


High As Hope

by scatteringmyashes



Series: feels like summer [1]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Percy Jackson Fusion, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bad Parenting, Canon-Typical Violence, Eventual Happy Ending, Family Feels, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Happy Ending, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Multi, Nonbinary My Unit | Byleth, Temporary Character Death, Trans Male Character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-05
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-16 10:21:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 30,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28580406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scatteringmyashes/pseuds/scatteringmyashes
Summary: Claude is lying. He's not the same as all the others. Camp is the first place where he feels like he belongs, but if everyone finds out about his secret? Then his friends might be his next enemies.Edelgard is scared. She doesn't know who she can trust and her dreams are growing worse, showing her visions of the world on fire. The worst part? It's her fault.Dimitri is going insane. He must be. He keeps hearing things, seeing things, and he feels like he's being watched. He doesn't know if he can be the hero the world needs, but he might not have a choice.The gods are missing. Three half-bloods are sent on a quest to find them, but back at Camp things aren't all sunshine and roses. And they're not the only ones looking…****The Percy Jackson and the Olympians AU that we deserve.
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd & Claude von Riegan, Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd & Edelgard von Hresvelg, Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Dedue Molinaro, Edelgard von Hresvelg & Claude von Riegan, Felix Hugo Fraldarius/Sylvain Jose Gautier, Ferdinand von Aegir/Edelgard von Hresvelg/Hubert von Vestra, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Series: feels like summer [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1646359
Comments: 30
Kudos: 42





	1. to my messages, you do not reply

**Author's Note:**

> So this started from an impulse thought back last year and then I started working on this for the bang and uh... here we are! The overall fic itself is probably going to be a big boy but I'm seeing it through one way or another!
> 
> Right now I've got plans to update every two weeks, give or take, but I'll try to let folks know if I have to go on break or anything. Regardless, serious shoutouts to Evie for helping beta and my artist Hambernn. 
> 
> I'm really happy that I can present this fic to everyone and I hope you enjoy!

**PART ONE —[BIG GOD](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kIrRooQwuk)**

**_to my messages, you do not reply_ **

“Dimitri!”

His eyes flew open, lungs heaving for air as he sat up. His sheets were twisted around his legs and he kicked them off. They fluttered to the ground. His hair stuck to his forehead, sweat beading against his back and sticking his shirt to his chest. Dimitri suicked in air, rubbing his eyes hard enough so stars danced across his vision. His head swam.

“Was it a nightmare?”

Somehow, Dimitri was unsurprised to see that Edelgard was also awake. Her brown hair was pulled behind her ears and she was reading a book, though it was now in her lap face-down. Her lamp was angled carefully away from Dimitri’s side of the cabin, long shadows crawling across the wall. Dimitri nodded. Edelgard frowned. A moment passed.

“Do you want to talk about it?” She asked.

“Not really. It was about Glenn.” Dimitri groped around for his clock. Three am, more or less. He threw himself back against his bed. The bunk groaned but held steady. If Edelgard was surprised by the content of his dream, she didn’t say anything. “Thanks for waking me up.”

Edelgard tilted her head. He gestured with one hand, the other pushing his bangs out of his eyes.

“I heard you call my name.” He tried not to blink, not wanting to see the flashes of lightning or see Glenn get cut down in front of him again.

Nothing he did could stop him from smelling ozone, though. A consequence of Cabin One — the home of Zeus always smelled like a storm was on the horizon.

“I didn’t say anything,” Edelgard replied. She picked her book back up. Dimitri couldn’t make out the title, but there was a man in a white suit on the front alongside a man with devil horns. “You probably heard it in your dream.”

Dimitri was certain he did not, but he didn’t feel like arguing. His brain didn’t always align with the real world, so he tried not to dwell on it.

He stared at the bunk above his. He wondered how much trouble he would get in if he went to the training grounds and ran through a few drills. Usually the harpies weren’t awake this late — or early, depending on your perspective — but Byleth kept weird hours. He didn’t much want to be stuck on dish duty for a week.

His other thought was trying to see if Dedue was awake, but that ran the risk of drawing the ire of the other Demeter kids. It wasn’t like Dimitri could just walk over and knock on the door without waking them all up. Besides, it wouldn’t be very fair to Dedue to be bothered by Dimitri just because of a nightmare. They were too common for it to be worth bringing up.

“Have you gotten any sleep?” Dimitri asked his sister. Edelgard looked at him over her book and shook her head. She didn’t provide more than that. “Do you want to talk about it?” Dimitri offered anyway.

“No.” Edelgard cleared her throat. “You should go back to sleep.We have stable duty tomorrow.”

“When are you going to sleep?” Dimitri replied. He sat up, twisting around so he could look at her directly.

Edelgard had the special ability to look the same regardless of whether she got eight hours or eight minutes of sleep. Unlike Dimitri, who appeared so haunted that Mercedes had actually offered to put in a good word with her mother more than once, Edelgard never had such issues. Even in the weird light from her lamp, the shadows on her face made her look mysterious. Dimitri curled his hands around the sheets.

He couldn’t really be jealous. Zeus had given him a brand new body as a gift. But sometimes Dimitri wished he was a bit less… awkward.

“Eventually.” Edelgard’s lips quirked upwards into a smile. “Don’t be so worried about me, Dimitri. Aren’t we coming up to the annual duel between you and Felix?” It was a clumsy change of subject, as if Felix and Dimitri weren’t regular sparring partners. Their major fight was fun for the full time campers, but still—

“I’ll tell Ferdinand you weren’t sleeping. Or Hubert.” Dimitri hoped he sounded more confident than he felt. He felt thrown when Edelgard frowned, biting her bottom lip before glancing down. “Is everything okay between you three?”

“What? Yes. Yes, it is.” Edelgard swallowed. “How are you and Dedue?”

“Good.” Dimitri couldn’t keep the smile off his face. “We’re good.”

“I’m glad to hear that.” Edelgard didn’t sound sincere, and she realized it just a beat behind him. She sighed, shoulders slumping. “I am, truly. Even if I don’t sound like it.”

Dimitri wasn’t sure what to say so he nodded. Dating was hard when you were a demigod. It was especially hard when your father was king of the gods and everyone expected you to act like it. Dedue and Dimitri's relationship was the most well-known secret at Camp, though Edelgard and her duo were slightly more public thanks to Ferdinand's inability to regulate his volume. Dimitri wasn't quite sure if Ferdinand and Hubert were also dating, or if they just promised not to kill each other for Edelgard's sake. He supposed it didn't matter.

Edelgard toyed with a lock of hair, twirling it around her fingers. The cabin was quiet. The solid construction meant it was hard to hear anything outside when the windows were closed. The imposing statue of Zeus seemed to lurk in the shadows of the corner. Dimitri often wondered how bad of an idea it would be to cover it up with a sheet. If he brought it up, he had little doubt that Edelgard would approve. Until then, it remained the weird elephant in the corner.

Not that he was comparing the king of the gods to an elephant, of course.

Dimitri leaned forward. “If you want to talk about anything, you know I will listen. You’re my sister, after all.”

“Half-sister.”

“Sister.” Dimitri yawned. “Try to sleep a little, alright? I don’t need Hubert drawing sigils all over our cabin again.”

Edelgard chuckled. “I will try if you try.”

Dimitri supposed that was fair. He reorganized his sheets, laying against his pillow. It smelled faintly of the fruity shampoo that he had started using because it reminded him of Dedue. He still felt shaky, but he knew Edelgard was right. Besides, it was something that had happened in the past. He would always regret Glenn’s death, but he had died heroically and Dimitri owed it to him to live to the fullest.

“Good night, sister.”

“Good night, brother.”

****

The first time Dimitri had been instructed to toss some of his food — the best parts too, the juiciest steak or the ripest berries — into the sacrificial flame in order to please the gods, he thought that he had well and truly lost it. Nowadays, he just selected the most fluffy of his waffles and made sure that there was a healthy helping of syrup and whipped cream perched on top before sliding it into the brazier.

“For Zeus,” he muttered, looking away from Byleth’s gaze. The head of camp stood alone at the head table. Seteth usually accompanied them, but Flayn was also missing. She was probably sick and Seteth was watching over her. Everyone knew how overprotective Seteth got over his daughter.

Dimitri waited for the smell of ozone to waft up from the smoke, confirming that his father had accepted the offering, before going to chow down on his breakfast. Sometimes there would be a crack of thunder across even the clearest of skies. He had yet to determine whether that was a good or bad thing. Gods worked in mysterious ways.

Nothing happened. Dimitri looked at the fire. The waffle was there, burning up.

Behind him, Edelgard shifted her weight from from left to right.

“You try,” Dimitri told her, aware that there was a line forming behind them. Even the most obstinate of the demigods knew better to eat before acknowledging the gods. That was just asking for bad luck.

Edelgard tossed a thick sausage and a muffin into the fire. "For Zeus, king of the gods," she said loudly. There was a _pop_ as the sausage exploded, but the only smell was burning food.

They both looked at each other, then at Byleth. Dimitri tried thinking of what he could have done to piss Zeus off that much as to get ignored, but nothing came to mind. He hadn't even listened to Felix blaspheme recently. And Edelgard hadn’t complained about the gods — at least where Dimitri could hear — the entire week.

"Hey, are you done yet? I'm hungry," Felix shouted somewhere in line. Dimitri stared at Byleth, mentally pleading for them to have a solution.

"Sit down," Byleth told him. "Both of you. We will talk later."

Dimitri nodded, feeling a bit empty inside, but without any better options. He walked away from the brazier, ignoring the looks several of the other campers were shooting him and Edelgard. They sat down across from one another. Neither touched their food.

A moment passed. Dimitri stared at Byleth, who wasn't even looking back.

Would it be worse to get up and run or should he sit there in shame? Maybe they hadn't dusted the statue of Zeus properly last time and Zeus was mad about it now? Dimitri didn't know. He didn't know what was happening or how to fix it.

"My food isn't burning! Why isn't my food burning? Did I do something wrong?" Bernadetta cried. The daughter of Eleos clutched her plate with white knuckles. Her eyes were wide — it looked like she was about to have a panic attack.

Before Dimitri could stand, Dedue and Hubert both stepped out of line to help Bernadetta. It was a bit odd seeing the trio step aside and start going over breathing exercises, but on the other hand it wasn't too unusual for this to happen.

More concerning was what Bernadetta had said — Dimitri could see a world where Zeus decided he was displeased with his children for not living up to his cryptic and often impossible standards. But Bernadetta's mother? Hardly the same.

Byleth stepped in front of Ferdinand before he could toss a bunch of grapes into the flames.

"Campers, please return to your seats. We will keep the same schedule as planned, but all cabin leaders will have a meeting this evening." Byleth didn't shout. They never did. Their voice just carried with the wind, steady and toneless but also consistent and strong.

Dimitri had been at camp for years. Byleth hadn't changed. Being immortal would do that to a person.

"This is bullshit," Felix loudly commented as he slammed his plate down onto his table. He glared at Byleth, but even he didn't have the guts to pick a fight with the head of camp. "They just did something to piss the gods off. Why do I have to get punished for it?" Felix continued.

"Shut up," someone told him, a person Dimitri didn't see. Felix raised the middle finger in their general direction, stabbing his ham with a knife in his other hand. He took a bite out like it was a kebab.

Dimitri looked back at his plate. Breakfast was a subdued affair. Between him and Edelgard, they ate two bites. Dimitri didn't see Byleth touch a thing.

****

"That's impossible," Felix said, because of course it was Felix who disagreed. Edelgard couldn't find fault in him on this occasion though. She trusted Byleth but—

"The gods can't just go missing." Ingrid voiced Edelgard's thoughts. She was calm at least, unlike Felix who slammed his fist on the table again.

"They're just being stubborn," he argued. "Or you're misinterpreting your dreams. It's a challenge that we need to face. Do not read too far into your signs that we miss the obvious."

"I hate to agree with you, but it is hard to believe that any force could be strong enough to affect all the gods," Hubert murmured. He was at the opposite end of the table, one of the two representatives for the children of minor gods. The other cabin leaders were arranged around the table based on where their cabin was located, as always, with Byleth next to Ferdinand and Hubert.

The structure put Dimitri and Edelgard at the head of the table, which she didn't mind. It felt right.

They were in the rec room in the Big House, which was used for special events like movie nights, demon banishment, and meetings. It was rare that all the cabin leaders had to convene and usually it was just to open and close out the summer. There would be about thirty minutes of productivity before the group of hyperactive demigods devolved into food fights, petty arguments, and general distractions. Today's mood, however, was somber. Only Claude was picking at the snacks that Alois, the head of the satyrs, had set out. Even Sylvain looked less perky than usual, his smile fractured around the eyes.

Edelgard flipped some hair behind her shoulder. "I think that the evidence is strong to support Byleth. Dreams alone may not confirm the disappearance, but the sacrifices failing? At the very least, that is a bad omen."

"And Seteth is gone," Alois reminded them all, as if Seteth's empty seat wasn't enough. "This has never happened before. The gods might go a bit quiet, but they never vanish." The satyr let out a bleat and took a bite out of a discarded can. Edelgard was too used to him to be surprised.

"It is clear what needs to be done," Dimitri mused. "A quest."

That brought up another clamor. Felix started accusing Dimitri of just wanting to go on a quest, Mercedes asked if that was wise, Claude agreed with Dimitri, and Dedue was trying to calm everyone down. Ferdinand was already proposing he join the quest and Hubert snidely asked if he thought he would actually contribute anything or just wanted the attention. That, naturally, sparked a separate argument that Edelgard had heard too many times before.

Edelgard sighed. She adored her partners but sometimes she thought that tossing them into the lake would be better than dealing with their fighting.

"I agree," Byleth said, their voice silencing all others. "If it is nothing, then we will confirm that fact. If it is something more…" They shrugged.

No one spoke for a moment. Then, slowly, Ingrid raised her hand.

"Byleth, who do you want to lead the quest?" She asked.

"I volunteer," Ferdinand declared at the same time as Dimitri. "Oh," Ferdinand said, because when the son of Zeus spoke, people tended to listen to him.

"Your abilities are good and useful, Ferdinand, but that is why you should stay here. We do not know what is happening with the gods and Camp may require protection." Dimitri rubbed his chin. "And something… calls me. Like I must see this through." If it were anyone but Dimitri, Edelgard would call them out. Dimitri was too earnest for that though, which was why—

"I also volunteer," she stated. "If this concerns the gods, then it concerns all of us, and we must have the best chances of succeeding. That would mean selecting the strongest demigods."

"So I will go too," Felix chimed in. He leaned forward, frown marked across his face. "Besides, the two of you are going to draw every monster this side of the Atlantic. You'll need someone who can fight."

"Er," Edelgard started, because she might not have anything personally against the son of Ares but he had inherited his father's temperament and she knew that she didn't have Dimitri's patience.

"You would be a terrible choice." Dedue shifted in his seat, face carefully blank.

"Say that to my face," Felix yelled, reaching for his belt before remembering that Byleth made everyone disarm before the meeting started.

"I am."

"Well, you two haven’t been out there for a while, right? So you'll need someone who can help out. I'll go." Claude flashed Dimitri and Edelgard a grin. "I don't like to brag, but I'd think I'm pretty street smart."

"You once managed to get a pizza delivered to Camp," Leonie pointed out. Byleth raised an eyebrow. "I mean, the pizza was delivered for someone who had the exact same pizza taste as you."

"My name was not on the order and you cannot prove it was me," Claude confirmed.

"Is it normal for two campers from the same cabin to go?" Ignatz asked. He seemed to cower a little when all the eyes centered on him.

"It isn't like there's been any quests recently," Sylvain pointed out. He wasn't smiling anymore. "I'd volunteer, but I'd rather not."

"That's probably for the best," Ingrid told him. Sylvain rolled his eyes.

Edelgard looked to Byleth. "What do you think? If it is an issue, I'm sure my brother and I can… peacefully decide who goes." She wasn’t too sure about the _peaceful_ part, but she could try.

Byleth nodded, but said nothing as they mulled over the question. Even Felix didn't speak.

"It is irregular, but these are strange times. You should both go to the Oracle. If she approves, then we will determine your third."

It didn't get much simpler than that. Edelgard still shivered as she exchanged a glance with Dimitri. He was usually easy to read and the thin scowl of determination was no exception. They both stood, Edelgard a step behind him, and headed towards the attic. Even though neither of them had gotten a prophecy before, everyone knew where the Oracle was. It was a bit of a Camp classic, trying to get someone to go up there at night without Seteth or Byleth finding out. Most of the time, nothing happened.

Mostly.

They both stared at the rope that would pull down the staircase leading up to the dust and dirt of the Oracle’s room.

“Why do you want to go on the quest?” Dimitri asked suddenly. Edelgard gave him a funny look. “I just — I suppose we’ve never talked about it, but I would have thought that you wouldn’t want to go on a quest to save the gods.”

Edelgard supposed that was fair. “I am not doing this for the gods. I’m doing it for us.” She didn’t want to talk about it more, so she gestured in front of her. “Shall we?” Without further ado, she reached forward and tugged on the rope.

The stairs swung down with a loud _thunk_ , dust flying in the air and forcing Edelgard to squeeze her eyes shut. Once it was clear, she started heading up the stairs, pausing halfway. Dimitri was still at the foot of the stairs, looking in the opposite direction.

“Dimitri?” She called. He blinked and slowly turned his head towards her. “Is everything alright?”

He nodded. “Sorry.” With a quick step, he followed her up.

Edelgard wasn’t sure what she expected, but a cluttered consortium of collectables wasn’t it. There was a stuffed hydra head labeled _2006_ that was mounted on a huge plank of wood and a box of weapons labeled _BROKEN/CURSED_. A few items were just ghosts, white sheets tinged with dust hiding whatever lay underneath. She caught her reflection in a broken mirror and saw her eyes completely blank and her hair stark white — Edelgard decided to stop looking around after that.

“Where is the Oracle?” Dimitri asked, tearing his eyes away from a painting on the wall. Edelgard pointed to the corner, where a shriveled husk of a person sat precariously in an oversized, yet half-eaten red armchair with frayed gold embroidery. “Oh.”

Neither of them moved. Edelgard felt a shiver run down her spine. Even though it was about fifteen feet away and pointed in the other direction, it still felt like the Oracle was looking at her.

“How are we supposed to get a prophecy? Do we just ask?” Dimitri wondered. Edelgard had no idea and just shrugged. She took a deep breath.

“If I get possessed by the spirit of the Oracle, tell the others that I did my best.” With about as much confidence as she could hope to summon, which was to say very little, Edelgard strode forward until she was actually eye-to-eye with the Oracle. The husk was smiling with dried lips, a mummy twisted into a permanent grin, and wore glass beads and colorful clothes like a 60s hippie. “Oracle, I am Edelgard, daughter of Zeus. I request a prophecy.”

There was a moment where Edelgard was convinced that nothing would happen and they could go back downstairs and call it a night. She didn’t like to think of herself as a coward, but the stillness of the room and the tension in her limbs were starting to get to her.

Then the Oracle’s mouth dropped open. There was a loud wailing as green mist flowed out, filling the entire room and making it hard to breathe. Its eyes glowed gold and purple and red, flashing like a demented strobe light. It didn’t move, but a cacophony of voices echoed in Edelgard’s head.

_“Three shall venture to Titan's peak,_

_A hero, a liar, and a birthplace they seek_

_Heads shall meet tails when the oath is broken_

_Followed by love's lips singing death's devotion,_

_Two eagles fly high as hope, one falls in the end_

_As mother's death brought only by motherless hand.”_

The mist suddenly was sucked back into the mummy, like a plug pulled from the drain. The Oracle’s eyes went dark and the room returned to how it was before. Dimitri and Edelgard looked at one another.

Without another word, they both turned to leave the attic. Edelgard had never been happier to leave a room.

****

Claude was spinning a pen between his fingers when Edelgard and Dimitri returned looking like they had just seen a ghost. The Oracle was close enough to one, Claude supposed, and he lazily sat up as they approached. He waited for someone else to speak, content to examine Dimitri's endless fidgeting with his sleeves and the way Edelgard looked around the room like she expected a hell hound to jump out of the shadows.

"So?" Felix asked, sharp but not deadly. "How'd it go?"

"We have a prophecy," Edelgard said.

"That's good," Ingrid replied, though her words were hollow.

Sylvain leaned forward, half-eaten granola bar forgotten. "What was it? Are we super fucked?"

Dimitri and Edelgard shared a look. Claude knew it was serious because no one told Sylvain to not swear, because nothing was more iconic than a camp centered around training minors to fight deadly monsters also telling those kids off for using bad language.

"Don't leave us hanging," Leonie complained. "Out with it."

"If you would rather tell just me…" Byleth trailed off. Edelgard shook her head, but it was Dimitri who spoke.

"Three shall venture to Titan's Peak. A hero, a liar, and a birthplace they seek." Dimitri frowned. "I — I don't know what that means."

"You never do," Byleth agreed, probably referring to the prophecy. "Go on."

"Heads shall meet tails when the oath is broken, followed by love's lips singing death's devotion," Edelgard took over. She was standing stock still, barely intoning as she spoke.

"Cheerful," Mercedes murmured. Sylvain nodded.

Claude lay his chin on his hands, fingers laced together. His eyes dashed between Dimitri and Edelgard and Byleth. As always, it was hardest to get a read on Byleth. They seemed apathetic from how little they emoted, but Claude had little doubt that they were the most concerned in the room. After all, even the oldest of the demigods had only been alive for what, twenty years? A bit more? And Byleth was Ancient with a capital A. If something happened to the gods, what would happen to Byleth?

Nothing good, Claude was willing to bet.

"Was there anything else?" Byleth the Ancient asked, eyebrows furrowing. Dimitri hesitated.

"Spit it out," Felix said.

"If they need time, they can have it," Hubert snapped at him. "Or if they wish to keep part of it secret. It is their prophecy."

"There is a quest at hand. If they wanted secrecy, then they shouldn't have volunteered," Felix argued. Claude held up a hand.

"Maybe we should let them finish," he suggested. "I haven't gotten any prophecies before, but I can't imagine they're all sun and roses."

Dimitri nodded and looked painfully relieved. "Yes, exactly. My apologies, though. I am trying to remember everything."

"I am writing it down," Hubert announced, gesturing to the parchment with the honest-to-gods quill he had acquired out of thin air. "Now, are there any other lines? It feels awfully short."

"Three shall venture to Titan's peak. A hero, a liar, and a birthplace they seek. Heads shall meet tails when the oath is broken, followed by love's lips singing death's devotion." Edelgard took a deep breath. "Two eagles fly high as hope, one falls in the end. As mother's death brought only by motherless hand.”

The silence was palpable. Claude wondered if this was when he was supposed to make some kind of clever comment. Usually he would at least try. Claude von Riegan, resident unclaimed and joker of Camp Half-Blood. That was who he was.

It was just hard to think of a joke when the punchline was death.

“Maybe the eagles are symbolic?” Ingrid tried, not even believing herself.

“Symbolic of your own disjointment from reality,” Felix muttered.

Ingrid’s nostrils flared. “Big word coming from a son of Ares.” She crossed her arms. Felix grit his teeth.

Claude cleared his throat, _very_ happy that everyone was unarmed. “We don’t know anything yet. Prophecies work in a mysterious way, right, Teach?” He looked at Byleth, who was back to a blank face. When they didn’t respond, Claude continued. “Teach? Byleth?”

“Does anyone know where Titan’s Peak is?” Mercedes asked. “That part seems clear enough. The quest should go there first, but I don’t know where that is.”

“In the myths, Titan’s Peak is the home of the Titans,” Ferdinand mused. He rubbed his chin, glancing about the room as if someone else would have the answers. “But I don’t know where that would correspond in modern times.”

“Right, because Mount Olympus is now in the Empire State Building, so the original Titan’s home base isn’t there anymore…” Sylvain made a show of shrugging. “I’ve got nothing. Ingrid? Your mom’s the goddess of reading and stuff.”

“My mother is—” Ingrid let out a heavy breath. “Yes, I know where the mountain is because I clearly know where every mountain is, since that is so obviously the kind of thing I’d just happen to have read on a lark. Thank you, Sylvain, for pointing out the obvious.”

“Don’t be a dick,” Felix told her. Claude wondered if it would be rude to get popcorn. He was pretty sure there was some left over in the Big House kitchen.

“You two don’t need to fight,” Dimitri cut in, snapped out of his fugue by the sound of his friends fighting.

Ingrid huffed. “Tell Sylvain to stop stereotyping just because of my godly parent.”

“Hey, I was complimenting you,” Sylvain argued, hands up in the air. “I was calling you smart.”

“Can we please focus?” Hubert snarled. Dedue nodded uneasily, as if he were unused to agreeing with Hubert. Which, fair enough. Claude didn't much like the son of Hecate either.

“Historically, where was Titan’s Peak?” Edelgard asked, looking around the room. “Byleth? Do you know?”

All eyes, including Claude’s swiveled to the camp counselor. Byleth nodded.

“It is now on Mount Tamalpais. That is in—”

“San Francisco.” Claude gulped. If he was smiling, he certainly wasn’t anymore. “I grew up like, an hour from there."

“Well, that makes it easy at least.” Edelgard tossed some hair over her shoulder. “I would like Claude to be our third member."

"You think an unclaimed is a better choice than me?" Felix protested.

"No, I agree with my sister." Dimitri locked eyes with Claude. He was always serious — probably a child of Zeus thing — but he looked downright deadly now. It wasn't the expression of someone who caught you dropping a smoke bomb into the vents for the Ares cabin or someone who really wanted to win Capture-The-Flag. It was something more.

Claude had heard stories about how powerful the children of Zeus could be, how intimidating they were. He'd just never made that connection with the slightly dorky, earnest Dimitri.

"Cool," Claude said, his voice sounding far away. "I'm game. Just a quick jump over, scout around, and see what we find. What could go wrong?"

Dedue shifted in his seat. Ignatz seemed very concerned with the table. Even Ingrid was silent, her frown saying all that she could. Claude hoped he hadn't made the wrong decision.

Byleth stood, their chair _screeching_ against the floor.

"It is getting late. The quest shall leave tomorrow. Alois will drive you to the airport — I shall purchase tickets for you. It will be fastest if you fly." They looked at the campers — the oldest demigods at camp, the ones who had seen year after year at Camp Half-blood and called it home because the outside wasn't safe. Claude knew he was lucky. He still knew where his family was. Not everyone was so fortunate. Such was the life of a demigod, after all.

Byleth held their hands behind their back. "Does anyone have questions?" And, when no one spoke— "Good night, everyone. Remember, the cleaning harpies will eat anyone caught breaking curfew."

Content with their reminder, Byleth left the room. Alois let out a bleat and finished off his can. Claude had a very strong sensation of _mood._

****

Edelgard gestured for her partners to follow her and the trio ended up on the porch of the Big House, watching the other cabin leaders leave and head back to the main part of camp. There was maybe an hour remaining before curfew, but most people seemed more eager to get away from the Big House than get to bed.

She raised an eyebrow when Sylvain threw an arm over Felix, mildly surprised Sylvain didn't get stabbed. If Ferdinand tried that with Hubert, he'd probably be turned into a horse.

"So, you are finally getting to see the world! That is very exciting." Ferdinand flipped his bangs, placing a hand on his chest as he gesticulated wildly with the other. "I know that I tell you about it every summer, but there really is no replacing the real thing."

"She is not going on a pleasure cruise," Hubert pointed out. "Edelgard, I have full faith in your abilities. With that said, I must voice my concerns about this quest."

"Thanks," Edelgard replied, sounding more bitter than she meant. "I know that it will be dangerous. It's what I've trained for most of my life, though, and I trust Dimitri and Claude."

Though Claude wasn't known for his pure combat ability, he was the second best with magic and he was wicked good with a bow — there was a running joke with the Apollo Cabin that Claude was an honorary member thanks to his cheerful personality and quick thinking. Dimitri, on the other hand, was the one who constantly broke silverware, fences, and doors with his brute strength. Combined with Edelgard's own strengths as a skilled fighter and daughter of Zeus, she had no doubts that they'd be successful.

Hubert didn't look so sure. "This is different. The gods may not be watching."

"My success does not depend on the gods." Edelgard crossed and uncrossed her arms. "I know your worry comes from a good place, but you I need you to trust me. I'll IM as much as I can."

"Don't waste your drachmas on Iris Messages," Ferdinand told her. "I will merely anticipate hearing the full tale from Claude as soon as you return, laurels and godly favor in tow."

"I do not trust Claude," Hubert said. Edelgard raised an eyebrow, her question obvious. "He has done nothing outwardly," Hubert quickly clarified.

"Except show you up last week by turning your cabin blue."

"That was not—" Hubert glared at Ferdinand before waving a hand in the air. It was hard to look intimidating while wearing an orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirt, but Hubert found a way. "Regardless, Claude is someone I have had my eyes on for a few years. It is hard to explain if you do not use magic, but—"

"Try." Edelgard usually wouldn't interrupt, but she was about to go on a quest to hopefully find the gods and she felt like this was a good exception to make.

"Most magic has an aura. A sense of _s_ omething that lets you know where it comes from. His feels wrong." At the blank looks he received, Hubert rephrased. "When I cast my magic, what do you think of?"

"I wonder what someone did to anger you," Ferdinand immediately replied, which Edelgard felt said more about Hubert than his magic.

Hubert sighed. "Can you try to take this seriously? I know you would prefer to just assume everything will go as planned, but unfortunately the rest of us live in the real world."

Ferdinand stepped towards Hubert. "I am taking this seriously, but I don't think baseless accusations against one of our friends is a very good start. Edelgard agrees with me."

Edelgard counted to ten in her head as Hubert and Ferdinand continued to argue. She prayed to whatever god could hear that the two didn't kill each other while she was gone.

"I think Hubert is doing what he thinks is right. If you sense something is different about Claude, I can keep an eye on him, but it is probably just that he has learnt magic differently." Edelgard placed a hand on both Ferdinand and Hubert's arms, not quite pushing them apart but ready to do so at a moment's notice. "Claude has done nothing to show any kind of suspicion and I trust Byleth. They wouldn't have Claude go with us if they thought he was anything hiding."

"Byleth isn't a god," Hubert muttered, but he hung his head in mute agreement anyways.

"You're not a god either," Ferdinand said, pronouncing each word clear as day. Edelgard looked at him. Ferdinand rolled his eyes. "I think that we should believe in Edelgard and think of it this way. Even if there is a traitor — which likely is not the case — then our lovely Edelgard can and will capture them and bring them back to camp."

Edelgard smiled. "That is very kind of you."

"It is true. Now, we have an hour or so remaining — Edelgard, do you wish to spend time together for your last night before you go off on your noble adventure, or do you have plans?"

It was still strange, the feeling of being cared for and even loved. These two had seen her at her lowest and, with any luck, they would see her at her highest. She just wasn't quite sure what that looked like yet. In the meantime…

"I would like for us to be together, if neither of you are opposed."

"Of course not. Your wish is our command."

****

Dimitri liked to spend time passing stress in the training ring, finding tranquility in the familiar patterns of block, slash, stab, again — it was simple. Safe. That evening, though, he knew Felix would be there and the last thing he wanted was to have a conversation with him. Instead, he headed to the docks.

Dedue caught him standing on the wood pier, his hair waving gently in the sea breeze. The sun was almost entirely gone, the last slivers of light illuminating the ocean into a vivid orange. With the sound of the sea, it was peaceful. Enough, almost, to calm the thoughts swirling in Dimitri's head.

A moment passed.

"I wanted to—"

"May I—" Dimitri blushed. He gestured vaguely with one hand, the other going to rub the back of his neck. "Go ahead."

Dedue swallowed. "I wanted to ask how you were feeling."

And oh, how did Dimitri answer that?

"Is it too obvious if I say nervous?" Dimitri laughed, though there was no joy in it. "I haven't left Camp in years. Now I am going on a quest to presumably save the gods. We don't know what we will face. We don't know where they are. It might be a fool's errand. We might save the world. It all depends on my leadership. I can't even drive!"

"Most of us cannot drive," Dedue reminded him. "Byleth cannot drive. But I know that is not the point."

"No, it's not." Dimitri sighed. He kicked at the wood under his feet. "I suppose my nightmares make more sense."

"Your nightmares? I thought they were getting better?" Dedue frowned. Dimitri bit his tongue, wincing at the sensation.

"They — mostly. It's just been flashes, here and there. Little things. I'll be fine. I'll get the answers I need once we get the gods back."

Dedue didn't have a response to that. Thankfully, he didn't push it. Dimitri appreciated that.

In front of them, the sun continued to set. It was in the middle of summer but a chill still drifted over the water. Dimitri wondered if Apollo had ever seen the sunset himself. It was beautiful. He enjoyed evenings, finding comfort in the knowledge that the sun always would return.

Then again, if the gods were gone, what did that mean for everyone else?

"I love you," Dimitri blurted out. Dedue blinked and looked at him. "I do. I hope you know that."

"Of course. I love you too." Dedue reached out, taking Dimitri's hand in his. "I would have volunteered, but I do not know what I could have contributed. My magic is better suited for tomato plants than monsters."

"Maybe we will need to grow our way out of something," Dimitri tried to joke, but Dedue just smiled ruefully at him. "I have been training my whole life, even before Camp. I am the son of Zeus. This is what I was made for."

Dedue looked away, though his hand tightened around Dimitri's. For a moment, Dimitri thought Dedue would ask him not to go. That was what the lover was supposed to do, was it not? In all the stories there was the hero and his wife. She'd beg him not to go but he, an adventurer at heart, would have to — or there would be a prophecy, a curse, some kind of divine intervention and the choice would be torn from him.

Well, Dedue was not Dimitri's wife and he did not ask Dimitri to stay.

"I will miss you," he said instead. "I will think of you often."

"You'll be on my mind every day," Dimitri promised. He turned and grabbed Dedue's other hand, raising one to his lips and kissing his knuckles. "I swear on my honor that I will come back."

Dedue huffed, but he was smiling ever so slightly. "Your honor, hm?"

"Yes. Because it's something no one can take from me, not even the gods."

A strong gust of wind shot at them and Dimitri flinched but ultimately held fast. It was gone almost as soon as it came, but he could have sworn that a figure with brown eyes and a tanned complexion had appeared in that moment, right behind Dedue. Dimitri swallowed.

 _It is nothing,_ he thought, tearing his eyes away to look at Dedue. _It is fine._

Dedue leaned down and pressed his forehead against Dimitri's. "Do not taunt the gods," Dedue murmured. "Even if they have vanished, they'll come back someday."

"I would fight them all for you, my love," Dimitri murmured. Dedue huffed, but he must have known it was fruitless to argue further because he said nothing else. "Every time I look at the sun, I will think about you."

"I will make sure Felix does not burn your cabin to the ground," Dedue replied. Dimitri laughed. His heart felt light. "I know you will return. Fate can be cruel, but you are — you are special."

"And you are special to me." Dimitri tilted their heads up, meeting Dedue's eyes. "May I kiss you?"

Dedue nodded. Slowly, Dimitri pressed their lips together. There was the faint scent of strawberries, of freshly cut grass. Dedue was warm and the sensation of kissing him was like coming inside in the middle of a storm, like finding the last embers of a dying fire, like taking a drink of water on a hot summer day. Dimitri leaned into it, his hands curling around the fabric of Dedue's shirt. He felt Dedue cradle his head and his waist and knew he could go limp and Dedue would still hold him.

 _Heroes never get to be happy,_ a voice that sounded all too much like Dedue's mother echoed in Dimitri's head.

 _I will be. I'll be the first,_ Dimitri thought. The prophecy could mean anything, after all.

****

Claude snuck out of the Hermes Cabin once he was confident most everyone else was asleep. It was impossible to get a moment alone in the ever-crowded cabin — even with the special cabins for most of the minor gods, there were still more campers than space. He absolutely didn't want anyone to find him so into the night he went.

The woods were the best place to be alone, but the connection was terrible so Claude climbed up Half-Blood Hill and pulled his phone out while pacing back and forth. He tried not to look at Glenn's Tree. It made him want to punch something, which made sense. Glenn had been a son of Ares, had been popular despite the fact, and had died the year before Claude arrived.

He didn't like thinking about it at all, if he were honest to himself.

The call rang several times before going to voicemail. Claude held back a sigh. Even though he was at Camp, where monsters couldn't enter, it wasn't a good look to use a phone. Demigods using phones might as well be throwing up a flare for monsters, telling them that a tasty snack was right there. With that in mind, he had to keep it brief.

"Hey, I might be in the area soon, inshallah. If I can get a few hours away from the others, I’ll try to say hi. But I won't be at Camp so I won't be able to talk much." A lump caught in his throat. He rubbed at his face. "Stay safe. Miss you lots." Feeling like he could talk for hours, but with the knowledge that he didn't dare, he ended the call.

Somehow feeling worse than before, he trudged down the hill and back to his cabin. Because the Fates hated him, he wasn't alone.

"On a late night walk?" Hubert, son of Hecate, asked. He was half lurking in the shadow of his cabin, the flickering green torches and glowing sigils not enough to break him out of the darkness.

Claude gave him a wave, shifting so the phone wasn't fully obvious in his pocket. "Yeah. Trouble sleeping, but don't we all?" He kept heading towards his cabin, trying not to let Hubert get to him.

"You are going to be responsible for protecting Edelgard," Hubert called after him. "I do not trust you."

"Shoulda volunteered, then." Claude laced his fingers together, cradling his head but still not looking at Hubert. "It'll be fine, Hubert. I know you're just worried about your — good friend. I'm not _too_ offended by your lack of trust in me."

"I care not for your feelings towards me. I only wish to inform you of what will happen if Edelgard is harmed on this quest."

Claude spun on his heel so he could face Hubert. "Edelgard's a big girl. She ties her own shoes and everything. I think she'll be fine." He kept his voice light, but his eyes were sharp as he focused on Hubert. He slunk forward, dark jacket closed over his Camp Half-Blood shirt. It made sense — it was hard to be intimidating in bright orange. "You should trust Edelgard more than you mistrust me," Claude pointed out.

"I trust her with my life. She trusts you. I disagree." Hubert crossed his arms. He wasn't glaring, probably thought he was too dignified for that, but he didn't need to either. His message was clear. It was one Claude got often enough, even if there usually wasn't the same malicious intent that Hubert seemed to have. "What were you doing, really?"

"Would you believe me if I told you I was ordering another pizza?" Claude half-joked, but his tone was too flat. "I don't need to defend myself to you. Tomorrow, I am going on this quest and you will have to trust me whether you want to or not."

"I don't have to do anything."

"Then we feel the same." Claude didn't move. He didn't think Hubert was armed and it was a bit drastic for him to try anything just on suspicions, but Claude hadn't gotten that far by assuming the best of people.

Somewhere, an owl called out.

"Well, I'll just be going," Claude started, spinning on his heel.

“If Edelgard is hurt while you could have saved her, I will make you wish you were dead,” Hubert threatened.

“Is Dimitri also getting this talk?” Claude wondered, not faltering as he walked away. “Why is it always me?” He half-joked, not actually expecting an answer. He didn’t get any, but he could feel Hubert watching him the whole time.

He didn’t breathe until he was actually in his cabin, the sound of a few dozen demigods somehow more soothing than any white noise machine. He shivered as he slipped in bed, despite it being a sweltering summer night.

Sleep was slow to come.

****

Dimitri yawned as he waited for Alois to pull the van around. Since none of the three quest-going demigods had any idea how to drive — at least legally, Dimitri wasn’t sure what Claude did or did not know — they had to have the satyr drive them to the airport. From there, they’d take a flight to San Francisco, case out the creepy mountain, and take their next steps from there.

Hopefully they’d find a hero and whatever the birthplace was supposed to be. Privately, Dimitri was going to do his best to avoid any liars.

“Hey, is that Felix?” Claude said, pointing down the side of the hill. He was sitting on the ground, his jacket used as a blanket. Dimitri and Dedue, who was not the only friend present to say goodbye to the trio but the only one Dimitri truly cared about, both looked over to where Claude motioned. Next to Claude, Lorenz and Hilda stopped arguing long enough to confirm the sight before returning to their squabble.

“It is,” Dimitri replied, squinting as the son of Ares marched up the grassy incline. “I’ll see what it is he needs.” Felix had probably had three conversations with Claude in his lifetime and mostly saw Edelgard as “not-Dimitri.” If Felix was here to talk to either of them, Dimitri would eat his shoes.

The two ended up meeting about halfway, the distant shadow of Glenn’s Tree somehow still looming over them. Felix crossed his arms.

“You look stupid,” he said. Dimitri laughed, scratching the back of his head.

“We had to get disguises,” he explained.

Dimitri, Claude, and Edelgard were changed out of their Camp clothes and into normal clothes. They couldn’t exactly walk around with _Camp Half-Blood_ plastered all over their chests. Thankfully the Aphrodite Cabin had been happy to help, plus they actually had enough for them all. Dimitri knew they had wanted to give him a makeover for years, but a flannel and jeans were as close as they were getting for now.

“It’s stupid.” Felix swallowed. “I wanted to tell you that you can’t die.”

Dimitri blinked.

“You are not allowed to die on this quest,” Felix continued. “Not because I care about you, but because my brother died to get you here. If you toss away his sacrifice, I will make Mercedes let me into the Underworld and personally destroy your soul myself.” Felix said it all very matter-of-fact, which was what made Dimitri pay attention.

If anyone could carry out such a threat, it would be Felix.

“I have no intentions of dying,” Dimitri replied. He resisted the urge to look at Dedue. Felix could tell and snorted.

“If you think the power of your love will save you or some stupid nonsense like that, then you’re even more hopeless than I thought.”

“You’re dating the son of Aphrodite,” Dimitri pointed out. Felix’s scowl deepened. “I know you don’t want to admit it, but I am glad that we are friends. And I am happy you’re staying behind because you can protect Camp. If something is happening, they’ll need all the fighters they can get.”

Felix rolled his eyes. “You don’t have to say that. I am not Ferdinand. My feelings are not hurt being left behind.”

Dimitri decided his best chances at survival counted on agreeing, so he just nodded as Byleth cleared their throat. The waiting demigods turned to the camp director. They were dressed, as always, in a black turtleneck and black pants. Dimitri had attended Camp for years and was quite sure he had never seen them in anything else. If it weren’t for the green hair, it would be easy to forget that they were an immortal being.

“Alois is ready.” Byleth handed Edelgard a backpack as Dimitri trudged back to the top of the hill. He glanced behind himself, but Felix was already stomping away. “If you have an emergency, contact me. We have systems in place to help finders. You may utilize them if necessary.”

 _Finders_ was the code-word for the satyrs who traveled across the country to try to find demigods who didn’t know about their parentage. They’d get to Camp and get trained or, if they were too young, would just be monitored for a few years to see if they needed interference. Glenn had been an exception — demigods weren’t good finders, couldn’t sense one another intrinsically and attracted monsters in a way that satyrs didn’t. He was just damn good at what he did.

Glenn was still dead. It was hard to forget that with his tree swaying gently in the morning breeze.

“We’ll be fine,” Claude said loudly. He grinned at Edelgard and Dimitri, who did his best to return it and wasn’t quite sure he was succeeding. “So, have either of you ever been on a plane?”

“No.” Dimitri’s mother had never had money for a flight and, more importantly, they had nowhere to go. Edelgard shook her head, probably thinking about the foster families she had been shuffled around.

“Oh, this is going to be fun.” Claude clapped his hands together. “Let’s go. JFK is pretty great, you’ll love it.”

“Is there anything else we should know?” Edelgard asked, putting the backpack on.

“No.” Byleth frowned. “Do not die.” It was probably supposed to be motivational, so Dimitri decided to take it that way.

Byleth pointed to where a white van with _Farm Fresh Fruits_ scrawled on the side in garish red. There was also an eagle, wings outstretched, tearing into a strawberry like it was a mouse. Dimitri wasn’t sure who had decided on the logo for Camp’s vans, seeing as eagles didn’t even eat fruit, but he supposed it wasn’t his place. Alois, human disguise on, waved up at the group.

“Are you ready?” Edelgard asked, her eyes focused on Dimitri. He nodded, turning towards Claude.

Behind them, their friends watched with bated breath. Dimitri thought about his promise to Dedue, about the kiss they had shared. It felt weird being too affectionate in front of everyone, so they hadn’t kissed again in the morning. He tried not to think of that as a mistake.

Claude opened his mouth when, suddenly—

“Wait!”

They all paused, turning in confusion, as Cyril of all people jogged up. He was panting heavily but didn’t stop until he was in front of Claude. Without saying anything, he shoved a little bundle at him.

“Huh?” Claude took it and started to unwrap it, but Cyril blanched, shoving his hands over Claude’s.

“When you need it,” Cyril hastily clarified. Dimitri burned with questions and, from the look on Edelgard’s face, he wasn’t the only one, but Claude just nodded and slipped the object into a pocket.

“Thanks, brother,” he said. With that, he once more smiled at his companions. “Let’s go. Shouldn’t let Alois wait too long.” And, not waiting for another word, he crossed the boundary and left Camp.

Dimitri swallowed. He looked at Glenn’s Tree. He remembered his conversation with Demeter, just a few weeks ago, when she told him that he wouldn’t make Dedue happy. They had spoken at this very place. She had told him that he wouldn’t make Dedue happy and that Dedue would only face tragedy with him. He still could remember the entire conversation if he closed his eyes. There was no evidence that a goddess had been present, just his memories and a single blossom on Glenn’s Tree.

 _I will come back,_ he thought. With resolve steeling his spine, he followed Claude down the hill, Edelgard right on his heels. He didn’t look back.

****

They got about thirty minutes into the drive when the van started to sputter and make noises that Edelgard, who did not know more about cars than the fact that they had to be turned on and off, was worried about. Alois looked at the rearview mirror, where Dimitri and Claude sat. Edelgard hadn't called shotgun, it was just assumed.

"Don't worry about it," Alois reassured them. "These vans are almost as old as Seteth, but they're about as tough."

Claude muttered something that was probably _And Seteth is missing,_ but Edelgard couldn't hear him over the sound of the engine wheezing. Alois pat the dashboard, whispering to the van in Greek.

"So when was the last time you two got out?" Claude asked, half-shouting so Edelgard could hear him.

"Do you remember when all of us full-timers went to Olympus?" Dimitri reminded him. Claude nodded.

It had been a special treat, about two dozen campers loading into vans and heading to the 600th floor of the Empire State Building. Edelgard had only seen Zeus that one time, had felt smaller than an ant the whole trip. She didn't usually find herself scared of the gods, but seeing them in person… that was different.

Now, she couldn't decide if she did want to spend more time with her father or never talk about the gods again.

"Wow, that was… huh, okay." Claude whistled.

"I lived outside for years," Dimitri pointed out. "Edelgard, you were on the run longer than me, weren't you?"

"Only a little." She swallowed, memories swirling around now that the door was cracked open. "Glenn found me rather quickly."

"I forget that you two haven't been here for years and years," Claude said, fiddling with the zipper on his jacket. "Weird. Anyways, don't fear. I can get us through anything."

Edelgard resisted the urge to point out the obvious, which was that Claude was also a full-timer in his third year at Camp. Just because she and Dimitri hadn't been out in the world for almost four years didn't mean that Claude had some huge advantage. He just… acted like it.

"You will all do fine," Alois encouraged them. "Byleth wouldn't let you leave if they thought there would be a problem. In fact, I bet that they would have organized a quest soon if the opportunity hadn't risen."

That didn't make Edelgard feel as good as Alois probably intended.

"Alois, have you ever seen anything like this?" Dimitri asked.

"Nope. This old goat's been around for a while and the strangest thing was when you and Edelgard came to Camp."

"And Dedue," Dimitri added.

Alois waved a hand. "Yes, yes, him too."

Before the conversation could continue, something exploded.

At least, that was what it sounded like. There was a great cacophony of noise, a squeal as the brakes ground the car to a halt, and then the sudden rise of smoke. Alois swore, yanking at the wheel. He managed to get the car to the side of the road before the old van finally gave out. Plumes of smoke rose from beneath the hood of the van.

"Out," Alois instructed, kicking his door open. "Wait for a second. I can fix anything."

Edelgard found herself standing at the side of the road, Dimitri trying to keep spirits up by asking Claude about San Francisco and wondering about what it would be like to see the ocean. Cars whizzed by but none of them even slowed down to look, no doubt thanks to The Mist — it was handy to have a magical veil over the mortals so they couldn't see things one didn't want them to see. If a fight broke out, it would be the only thing stopping a mortal from watching Edelgard chop a monster's head off with her axe.

Speaking of which, Edelgard rubbed her fingers over the silver bracelet on her wrist. Her shield, her only gift from her father, was encapsulated in it. Her axe, which Hubert and Ferdinand had gotten for her, was a little pocket flashlight. _Practical and deadly,_ Ferdinand had proudly stated when presenting it to her.

Meanwhile, Dimitri’s lance was kept as a pin on his shirt and Claude’s bow was hidden in a fanny pack kept over his chest. They’d be able to get through airport security with no issues.

“When’s our flight?” Claude asked suddenly, stopping Dimitri from continuing on his comparison of the Atlantic versus the Pacific.

“We’re supposed to take off at 12:45,” Edelgard said. “What time is it?”

“I don’t know, I don’t have a watch.” Claude looked at Dimitri, who shook his head. “Alois, what time is it?”

“Huh?” Alois looked away from the car, which had its hood propped up so there wasn’t anything muffling the smoke. Claude repeated himself. Alois jolted upright, eyes going wide. "Right, you are on a deadline. Well, there's no way this is going to be fixed in time." He brushed his hands off on his jeans and went back to the front seat of the car.

Edelgard swore, shaking her head. "So we have barely started and we're already stuck."

"It does look bad… maybe we could get tickets for a later flight?" Claude wondered.

"This is a bit time sensitive," Dimitri pointed out.

"I have a solution." Alois held up a drachma — a gold coin about the size of a big Girl Scout cookie. "We'll just have to get you another method of transportation!"

Edelgard shared a look with Dimitri. Claude stepped forward, slapping the car. It let out a resounding _ring_.

"Alois, pal, I don't think that a taxi is gonna take drachmas." Claude gestured vaguely with one hand, leaning against the car with the other. "Edelgard, the bag has some supplies right?"

"Yes, but we should save it for when we need it…" The bag Byleth had given Edelgard was filled with about two hundred dollars, thirty drachmas, a box of white cheddar Cheez-Its, a bunch of granola bars, and a little travel-sized hand sanitizer. Edelgard hadn't let it out of her sight, certain it would somehow disappear the moment she turned away. "Alois, what are you doing? There are cars everywhere!"

The old satyr was right at the edge of the shoulder of the road. Even as Edelgard called out, a semi almost took him for a ride. The gust blew past them, forging Edelgard to close her eyes tight.

"Watch and learn, young demigods. This old goat has a few tricks up his sleeve!" Alois cracked his knuckles. " _Stêthi 'Ô hárma diabolês!_ "

Like all demigods, Edelgard understood Greek. It was literally in her blood. Still, _Stop, Chariot of the Damned_ wasn't exactly motivational. She liked her chariots free of the damned, for what it was worth.

She watched the drachma hit the ground. A silver Tesla ran over it. Claude coughed into his hand, fiddling with the zipper on his jacket. Dimitri frowned, glancing between Edelgard and Alois. Before anyone could say anything, a yellowed taxi screeched towards them and stopped with a hiss. It looked like someone had taken a white cab and painted it with lemon rinds, some areas peeling and showing the rust underneath.

On the side, in black cursive, was illegible script. Edelgard hated being dyslexic — the looping letters were utterly impossible to decipher.

"The Gray Sisters! You are all looking as beautiful as always." Alois waved at the driver — no, the drivers. There were three old women in the front row, all crammed inside with their limbs and clothes tangled up.

Edelgard looked at Dimitri. He looked at her. Claude swallowed.

"Three demigods to JFK," Alois said.

"That's extra," one of the sisters hissed.

"Busy area! Lots of traffic," another agreed.

"Many monsters," the third added. "Stinks."

"What?" Edelgard asked, pretty sure that she had misheard.

"Deal!" Alois dug into his pockets and handed over more drachmas. "They're the fastest cab in the tri-state area. They'll get you there with time to spare."

Dimitri seemed to have the fewest hesitations. He walked up and then got into the cab, scooting over to the far side. With a sigh, Edelgard followed suit. She soon found herself sandwiched between him and Claude, their cab whisking them away to the airport. Dimitri tugged on her sleeve, pointing at the seatbelts — or at least what were _supposed_ to be seatbelts, because they were actually rusty iron chains.

Edelgard decided she wasn't that desperate yet, though the way they accelerated made her dig her fingers into the seat.

"So, uh, how are you fine ladies today?" Claude asked.

"Fine, fine." The middle sister let out a screech. "Watch out!" The cab swerved to the left, the mirror clipping the side of a truck. Claude was tossed into Edelgard, who rammed into Dimitri. It was like hitting a wall — he didn't even flinch.

"What are three demigods going to the airport for?" The sister on the right asked. The one in the driver's seat smacked her.

"No fraternizing with the demigods!" She howled.

"We're on a quest," Edelgard informed them.

"What's the speed limit here?" Dimitri asked. No one paid any attention.

"A quest?" The middle sister twisted around, her — her face looking at them. Not her eyes, because she didn't _have_ any eyes.

Something clicked in Edelgard's head.

"You're the Fates."

The middle sister cackled as the one to the right pinched her in the shoulder. "No taunting demigods," the right sister reminded the other. "Remember what happened last time?"

"What happened last time?" Claude wondered. He jumped in his seat when a low truck horn wailed through the cab, the little yellow car soaring over a pothole and almost careening into another lane.

The highway was a blur outside the windows, but Edelgard didn't dare look too long. If she did, she'd probably lose her breakfast all over Dimitri's shoes.

"No telling," the left sister chided.

"Fine, fine," the middle sister agreed, frowning. "Oh, that's bad."

"Shut it!" The right sister, who had a scraggly tooth that probably gave dentists nightmares, spat out. "Can't tell them anything."

"I'm the son of Zeus," Dimitri said, using his son-of-Zeus voice. "If I order you to tell me, you should obey." It worked on seven year olds and on Ashe with varying levels of success, but the sister on the right just cackled.

"We are above the gods," she told him.

"And we're union!" The middle sister added.

"What if we made a deal?" Claude suggested. He sounded calm, but his knuckles were pale from how hard he clung to the door. "We can trade something and, in exchange, you give us a hint about the prophecy."

"Oh, interesting!" The middle sister yelped when the others both smacked her. "But he wants a trade. We must talk about a trade."

"Are you sure about this?" Edelgard whispered, tugging on Claude's sleeve. "Heroes who try to change the future too much just cause their fate."

"If we can stop someone from dying, we have to try," Claude said.

"What are you talking about?" Dimitri asked, right as the taxi almost missed their exit. They cut across four lanes, probably causing at least one accident, but made it to the ramp with only minimal screaming. "What trade? We don't have anything of worth."

"Curious demigods always have something," the sister on the left crooned. "Memories or dreams—"

"Hopes and passions—"

"Terrors and secrets. So, young demigods, what do you wish to know?" The sister on the right leaned over her seat, her shadow casting long lines over the three of them. "Speak quickly. You're running out of time."

Edelgard found herself in a silent conversation with Dimitri and Claude, the three of them all trying to talk without words passing their mouths. Dimitri gestured at the window while Claude motioned between the three of them. Outside, the signs for their terminal were getting more and more frequent. Edelgard wanted to shout at them to drop it, but she didn't know if they would listen and didn't know what she would do then.

"What oath is going to be broken?" Dimitri blurted out. Claude raised an eyebrow, but he didn't look upset.

The three sisters all laughed.

"What a question," the middle sister chuckled.

"What a wonder," the right sister replied.

"A secret is fair trade for an answer," the left sister said. "What secrets do you have, little demigod?"

Edelgard shook her head. "You don't need to tell them anything," she told Dimitri.

"If it'll help with the quest, then we could use it," Dimitri argued.

"I agree with Edelgard," Claude said. "But it is your secret."

"What is it, son of Zeus?" The three sisters all chimed, their voices a tangled web of sound.

Edelgard swallowed, her tongue feeling like lead. Now that she knew Dimitri's question, she wasn't sure she wanted the answer.

"I miss my mother," Dimitri confessed. "Now, tell me what oath is getting broken."

"Yours," the middle sister chimed, but she was not pointing at Dimitri. A boney finger was angled at Edelgard, who felt herself pale.

"What are you talking about? I haven't made any promises," Edelgard argued, though there was a pit in her stomach. "You're lying. I thought that the Fates couldn't lie."

The cab came to a screeching halt, Edelgard finding herself thrown forward. Dimitri grabbed her by the back of her shirt, stopping her from colliding with one of the Fates by the skin of her teeth. Claude wasn't quite as lucky, hitting the back of the seat with a _smack._

"JFK! Little demigods better run — their flight is leaving soon," The left sister cheerfully informed them.

Claude looked outside the car and must have seen a clock, because he swore and then threw the door open. "We gotta go," he agreed. He jumped out of the cab, looking pretty happy to be on his own two feet once more.

"Wait, I still don't understand," Edelgard protested. "You didn't answer the question!"

"We're outta time, Edelgard. We can figure it out on the plane," Claude said, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

Dimitri got out of the cab and held a hand out for Edelgard. "Claude's right, sister. We need to go."

She glared at him and exited the other way, slamming the cab door behind herself. The Gray Sisters rushed away with a high, ringing horn and a chatter of laughs. Edelgard hoped that they crashed on the freeway and had to take a few centuries to reincarnate or whatever it was that immortal beings did if their physical forms got destroyed.

"I hate gods," Edelgard muttered. Neither Dimitri nor Claude bothered to correct her. Claude just gestured vaguely above his head.

"They weren't entirely wrong. Our flight leaves in ten minutes." The three all shared a look. Then, with haste that Hermes would have been proud of, they booked it.


	2. you can never know the places that I go

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the support so far!!! I'm really excited to keep sharing this fic with ya'll. 
> 
> This chapter also features some awesome art. You can find it on Twitter [here!](https://twitter.com/hambernn/status/1351060550990651397?s=20) Thank you to Hambernn for being an awesome partner through the big bang!
> 
> Please note that the chapter beginning has a brief mention of misgendering (Dimitri's ID still has his deadname, which is not shared, and a "female" gender marker). There is also the implication that Claude has experienced racial profiling in airports before, but it is not mentioned further or in detail.
> 
> I hope you enjoy this update!

**_you can never know the places that I go_ **

They ran into trouble in security, because they didn't have enough problems already. First, Dimitri's ID still had the wrong gender marker, which Claude felt bad for on every level. Apparently Byleth didn't keep up with human paperwork — they were probably just lucky that Dimitri and Edelgard _had_ IDs. There were few raised eyebrows at Edelgard's ID as well, since it hadn't been updated to New York and showed an old address, but at least her name matched.

"Khalid von Riegan," Claude said, sliding his ID to the security guard. He flashed them his best _I am normal and not suspicious, please don't pull me over for a random security check_ smile. "Birthday July 24th."

The guard nodded, scanned his ID, and soon Claude was walking through the security scanner. Edelgard followed soon after, though Dimitri was still getting interrogated by a burly looking guard who should have had better things to do. Dimitri, on the other hand, looked like he wanted the floor to rise up and consume him.

"Should we help him?" Claude whispered to Edelgard, who was holding Byleth's bag like a lifeline. He didn't know how it got through security when there was a metric fuckton of gold in it, but he knew magic worked in mysterious ways and decided not to dwell on it.

"How?" Edelgard replied. "I can't manipulate the Mist. Byleth never taught me."

"No, that is my most recent ID," Dimitri repeated, shoulders slumped in some vain attempt to make himself smaller. "I — I am going to miss my flight."

“Ma’am — son — er, do you have anything else?” One of the guards asked. Dimitri shook his head.

“Maybe I can cause a distraction?” Claude murmured, glancing about. It was then that he noticed that one of the janitors was staring right at him. Maybe it was nothing, but being a demigod meant that _nothing_ was usually _something_. “Hey, Edelgard, you see that janitor?”

Edelgard looked towards where he nodded, narrowing her eyes. “Yes, I do. Are you getting something from him?”

“I might.” Claude focused back on Dimitri, who was now talking to three different TSA agents. “You start heading towards our gate. I’ll catch up with him.”

“Are you sure?” Edelgard frowned. “That is still my brother. I should help.”

“You don’t know magic and three kids are easier to catch than two. Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing,” Claude lied. Though hesitation was written on her face, Edelgard still nodded and started walking away.

Waiting a moment, Claude headed towards the security checkpoint, muttering a spell under his breath. _Come on, Hecate, do me a solid,_ he thought.

“Hey, Dimitri, did you forget you have your name change paperwork in your bag?” Claude reached into his fanny pack and withdrew a folded stack of papers. He held them out to one of the TSA agents, who flipped through them quickly. Claude was holding his breath. Dimitri looked confused, but he wasn’t stupid enough to say anything.

After a moment of tension so thick that Claude could have spun it into a sweater, one of the agents looked at Dimitri and said,

“You’re good to go, kid. Try to remember to update your ID soon.” He handed the papers back to Dimitri along with his ID. If he suspected anything, he didn’t say it. Claude could feel his heart in his throat.

“Thank you,” Dimitri replied, half-running through TSA and turning around the corner with Claude in tow. “What did you do?” Dimitri asked once they were a safe distance from the guards.

“Magic.” Claude breathed out. “Thank you, Hecate. I owe you one.” There was a soft hum in his ears, but it wasn’t clear if he was just hearing something or if she had actually heard him. “Can I have that back, though?”

“Oh!” Dimitri handed the papers back to Claude, who stuffed them in his pack. “What is it, really?”

“Pizza menu. Little place in Brooklyn. Best pepperoni you’ll find this side of the Mississippi,” he lied. The letters were safe and secure in his bag now, and Dimitri hadn’t even glanced at them. “Now, let’s find your sister. I sent her to our gate. Hopefully she can convince them to wait for us.”

She had not, as they quickly found out at Gate 9C.

  
“We can either wait three hours for the next flight or we can try to get a different one,” Edelgard explained. Claude groaned, rubbing his forehead. “There’s a flight to Phoenix in about ten minutes or one to L.A. in an hour.”

“Phoenix?” Dimitri asked.

“Arizona. Not the closest, but better than nothing.” Edelgard bit her bottom lip. “I don’t want to stay here for three hours.”

“Agreed.” Claude thought about the janitor, who still sent a shiver up his spine just thinking about it. “An hour is pushing it. There’s got to be tons of monsters here.”

Dimitri fiddled with the pin on his shirt. Edelgard looked like she also would feel better fully armed, but Claude thought that they had tested their luck already with TSA. He didn’t fancy trying to explain why they were carrying around deadly weapons.

“Does that person look familiar?” Edelgard suddenly said, gesturing towards her left. Claude slyly eyed where she pointed, while Dimitri practically turned his entire body.

It was the janitor.

“When did you say the next flight was?” Claude asked.

“Ten minutes, but it’s to Phoenix.”

“Well, I’ve always wanted to see the Grand Canyon,” Claude said. He turned to the flight attendants who were at the desk. “We’d like to transfer our flights, thanks.”

He hoped that he wasn’t making a huge mistake.

****

Byleth didn’t think it would work, but they sat on the porch of the Big House anyways, a bright blue crystal in their hands. The campers were all tentatively working on their daily activities, instructed to continue their normal lives as much as possible. The absence of three campers — three admittedly important and well-liked campers, but still — was hitting everyone more than anyone had suspected, Byleth included.

But they would have to trust the trio. Two children of Zeus and, well…

It had been a while since a quest was sent from Camp. Byleth had to wait and hope the threads of Fate were spun in their favor.

In that moment, though, they were focused on something almost as vital. _Answer me,_ they thought, eyebrows furrowing. _Please._

A moment passed. Nothing happened. A soft breeze blew over the Long Island sound.

“Hello?” Seteth’s voice rang in Byleth’s head.

“You are alive,” Byleth said, never one for greetings and pleasantries.

There was a sharp intake of breath, then silence. It wasn’t quite a phone call, as Byleth couldn’t hear background noise — only what came out of Seteth’s mouth. But it was enough.

“Are you safe?” Byleth asked.

“Yes. Is Flayn okay?” And of course, his first question would be about his daughter.

“She is worried. We are worried.”

“I had to go into hiding. All of us — at least the ones who are still free — did.” Seteth sighed. “I am sorry for worrying you. It was not safe for me to stay and I had not the time to leave a message.”

Byleth could see the very top of the climbing wall. There were little orange dots as campers tried to make it to the top. They would not consider themself a teacher by nature, but they were a guardian and they wanted to be angry at Seteth. He was leaving Byleth with the expectations of Camp, something that they’d never done alone. These were children and they needed comfort and where, really, was safer than Camp Half-Blood?

But they also knew that this — that immortality, that heroics, that _mentorship_ — did not work like that.

“When will you return?” They asked instead.

“Soon,” Seteth promised. There was something, a brief intonation or a slight stumble, that set all the hairs on the back of Byleth’s neck straight up. “I will be back soon.” And there it was — it was a hesitation before the final sound, as if Seteth didn’t quite believe himself.

“Will you?” Byleth replied, knuckles going white around the stone in their hands.

Silence. There was a peel of laughter that floated over to them from the main part of Camp. Byleth had been the protector, the mentor for so long, they couldn’t remember all the faces. They tried. It was impossible. So many heroes come and gone. Some dead, some not.

They would kill to keep Camp safe. It wouldn’t be the first time, just the first time this century.

“Do not try to contact me again,” Seteth whispered. “It isn’t safe.”

“Where are you?” Byleth grit their teeth. “We can keep you safe. I can help you, Seteth.”

“Good bye, Byleth. Send Flayn my love.” There was no sign that the connection was dropped, but Byleth knew that he was gone. They were alone.

_Dammit._ Byleth licked their lips. There was a bitter taste in their mouth.

****

Edelgard often had nightmares. They were par for the course as a demigod. This one was new, though. Usually she dreamt of fighting, of Ferdinand and Hubert and Dimitri leaving her to die. She dreamt of Byleth looking disappointed, of Camp closing and her being left alone again. On nights like that, she tried to remember how Byleth looked when they promised to keep her safe.

This time, she saw her mother kissing Zeus. At least, it had to be her mother. She was a tall woman even without her heels, a vibrant red dress wrapped around her thin figure, and her hands were cupped around Zeus’s face. He held her gently and Edelgard could almost pretend that it was out of love. In truth, she didn’t know if Zeus had ever loved anyone besides himself.

The woman who was probably Edelgard’s mother pulled away as thunder cracked around them. Edelgard flinched, wanted to shout at the woman that she had to run. But it was too late — suddenly the ground was falling out from under her and Edelgard was falling, falling, falling until she landed with a scream.

She was standing on Half-Blood Hill and everything was on fire. The Big House was a bonfire, the cabins were whirlwinds of flame, and even the amphitheater was engulfed. She could hear screams, though she couldn’t make out any individuals. Her heart told her that this was terrible.

Her brain told her that this was for the best. Now, without the demigods to be used as pawns, then the gods couldn’t hurt anyone anymore. The gods were weak. They could move on. They could stop causing so much pain.

The other thing she knew, deep in her bones, was that this was because of her. She was powerful. She was strong. She could burn down the old world to make way for the new. Ferdinand wouldn’t have to give up his dreams of running a horse sanctuary. Hubert could study all sorts of magic without worrying about being judged. Dimitri and Dedue could go and have a farm somewhere safe.

All of her friends, all of the campers, could do whatever they wanted. Without the gods overseeing them and with the monsters in check, everything would be fine.

_Because of you,_ a soft voice crooned. _It is all within your reach, Edelgard. You need only grab it. Take a hold of your destiny. Reach for my hand — I’ll take you away._

“Edelgard?”

Something in her heart flinched. She should — she should know better. This wasn’t right. Camp, her sanctuary, on fire? How would that help anyone? But the concept… The power… She could do it properly, right? No one had to die.

She could keep everyone safe. She could do it. She had the power.

_Reach for me, Edelgard. You know what is needed. You can do it._

“Edelgard, wake up!”

A shove, a jolt, and Edelgard was wide awake. She looked from side to side, having been regulated to the middle seat. To her left, Dimitri slumbered. To her right, Claude had a worried expression on his face.

“Are you okay?” He asked.

She felt clammy, like she was going to throw up. She nodded anyways.

“Okay.” Claude didn’t sound convinced, but he just leaned back. The seats were pretty uncomfortable, but he somehow made anything look fine. Edelgard couldn’t help but feel jealous about how at ease he slipped from one situation to another.

They were in the sky, a place that was supposed to be her domain, and all she could think was that this was utterly unbearable. If they had a choice, she’d rather walk from California back to New York. When a sudden burst of turbulence shook the entire plane, Edelgard bit her tongue to stop from shouting.

She glanced at Dimitri, but he was still fast asleep.

“I think he can sleep through a hurricane,” Claude joked. His easy tone helped take a bit of the edge out of Edelgard’s breathing.

“After the stress with TSA, I am unsurprised. It was stupid for us not to think about that causing problems. I only hope he doesn’t take it too hard,” Edelgard murmured. Claude nodded.

“He’s tough and he knows we won’t hold it against him. We’ll just have to be extra careful heading back.”

“I’m walking back,” Edelgard told him. Claude laughed. “Do you fly often? Or, no, you’re full-time. Sorry, that was a stupid question.”

“No worries. When I was a kid, we did fly a lot.” Claude shrugged. “You probably heard, but my real name’s Khalid. We’d visit my family a lot.”

Edelgard didn’t have a family to visit even before Camp, so she couldn’t relate. Instead, she asked, “I did wonder about that. Would you prefer we call you Khalid?”

“I don’t care. Claude’s easier, I know.” It was hard to tell if he was lying. Edelgard didn’t spend enough time with him, mostly keeping out of his pranks. He wasn’t a son of Hermes, but there was a reason he still represented their cabin in most matters. She supposed that he would tell her if he minded too much. Then again, maybe not? “I’m from San Fran, you know. It’ll be cool to see how it’s changed.”

“I can imagine.” She couldn’t, but that wasn’t the right thing to say. “Can I ask why you don’t go home? If you’re still unclaimed, your scent cannot be that powerful. Ferdinand can travel without being attacked too much and you cannot have more scent than him.”

Demigods all had a scent, a kind of intangible attractiveness, which drew monsters to them. In the past, it was how demigods would end up challenging monsters to great duels. In the present, it just meant that a lot of the more powerful demigods ended up monster food. Edelgard had been harried from foster home to foster home thanks to their constant interference. She still wasn’t sure how Dimitri got to stay with his mother.

She tried not to be bitter about it.

Claude shrugged but there was something in his eyes — usually warm and friendly, if a bit distant — that warned her to tread lightly. “I have younger siblings — half-siblings I guess — that were in danger. I don’t want them to live with one eye open all the time, so I left.” He made it sound so easy.

Edelgard tried to think of what could get her to put Camp behind her. Not just her partners or brother, but her other friends as well. Dorothea, who helped her take care of her hair when no one else was willing to teach her. Bernadetta, who always had good book recommendations. Even Caspar and Linhardt, who never took things too seriously but always encouraged her when she felt too frustrated to focus.

_It is all within your reach. Take a hold of your destiny._ The words echoed in her head. Then, loudest of all:

_Reach for my hand._

“Maybe we can visit them on the way back,” Edelgard said, trying to push the thoughts out of her mind.

“Sure.”

“Is Cyril not actually your brother, then?” Edelgard wondered, thinking back to when they had left Camp, how Cyril had given Claude something to hold onto. In all fairness, Claude and Cyril could usually be found in the same place, or at least with Cyril running from Claude. On one particularly entertaining night, Claude had chucked vegetables at the other camper until he finally ate something that wasn’t just pizza and fries.

Claude laughed. “He’s like a brother to me. If you want to get specific, it’s like you and Dimitri.”

“Oh.” Edelgard tried to think of who Cyril’s godly parent was, but came up blank. Claude was also unclaimed so…

Her thoughts were paused when they hit more turbulence, Edelgard clinging to the armrest. She could have sworn that the lights actually flashed. Dimitri was absolutely dead to the world, not even yawning.

“Can’t you fly?” Claude asked.

“What?”

“Well, last year at Capture-The-Flag Dimitri flew over a bunch of the traps I sent. Is that not all of you?” He said it as if there were so many children of Zeus. “And the prophecy…” _Two eagles fly high as hope._ Edelgard would be happy to never think about it again. Unfortunately, that wasn’t how any of this worked.

“He’s better at it than I am, but I am better at channeling lightning. We think that it has to do with our faith,” Edelgard admitted. Claude tilted his head to the side. “You know my relationship with the gods is…”

“Tenuous,” he supplied. She nodded. “I mean, aren’t we all a little challenged? They could do better by sending a card once in a while, or something like that.” He laughed. Edelgard didn’t think he was joking.“But that’s cool. I wish I had powers like that.”

Edelgard thought about how they were conveniently ignoring the second part of the prophecy. _Two eagles fly high as hope, one dies in the end._ If it were up to Claude, would he let Edelgard die? Would he let Dimitri? Was there an acceptable answer?

“It’s not too bad,” she said. “I like lightning better anyways.”

****

Felix found Sylvain reading underneath a tree at the edge of the forest. His spear was out, the glistening silver and teal resting against the trunk next to him. Not like monsters really came to this part of the forest, but it was still a reminder that Sylvain wasn’t quite the helpless waif that he tried to pretend to be.

There was a moment where Felix allowed himself the weakness of admiring how Sylvain looked in the afternoon’s light. There were a few shadows over his face, but for the most part he was bathed in light. His eyes shined as they skimmed the page, his hair pushed back behind his ears. Like most children of Aphrodite, he wouldn’t be caught dead in the official Camp Half-Blood T-Shirt and instead had a short sleeved button-up with a casual French tuck.

The only reason Felix knew about a French tuck was thanks to the time Sylvain’s sisters had ambushed him outside the Arts and Crafts hut. He wished he didn’t.

“Hey,” Felix called out, crossing his arms and scowling to hopefully cover up his blush. Sylvain looked up and grinned. _Sap,_ Felix thought, as if it didn’t warm something between his third and fourth rib.

“Oh, hey.” Sylvain put his book aside, waving with one hand and pushing his bangs back with his other. “Did I forget something?”

“I was bored.” Felix sat next to him, angled so his sword didn’t dig into Sylvain’s thigh. Instantly, Sylvain threw an arm over Felix’s shoulders. A stab of annoyance hit Felix, but it was tempered by the warmth that radiated out from where they touched. “What were you reading?”

“Nothing interesting,” Sylvain lied. “Just something about Achilles and Patroclus.”

“Achilles?” Felix knew about Achilles. He liked Achilles. Any son of Ares worth his salt did. Even if Achilles wasn’t one of them, he was still the best warrior the Greeks had ever produced. Felix could die happy if he was remembered nearly as well. “I’ve never read _The Iliad_.”

“It’s not — ah, whatever. I don’t want to talk about it.” Sylvain pressed a messy kiss to Felix’s temple, which earned him a gentle elbow to the side. “How was training?”

  
“Good.” Felix launched into a discussion about how his siblings were working on a shield wall, how they were preparing in case there was a big fight. Even if there wasn’t, there was no harm to practice.

While he was talking, he was slowly aware that he was monopolizing the conversation in a way that he usually couldn’t get away with. In private, Sylvain was hardly a chatterbox, but he didn’t care to listen about the best way to hold a shield and a spear. He’d feign interest and instead play with Felix’s hair or start kissing his neck. Then, when he found an opportunity, he’d jump in and gently steer the conversation to something he cared about.

Felix didn’t usually mind, didn’t call Sylvain out on it, because Sylvain knew that he knew. It was nice, actually, feeling Sylvain’s fingers thread through his hair. It made him feel drowsy. Made him feel like he could relax and close his eyes. That he could let someone else keep an eye out.

It was something that only Sylvain could do. Felix was always angry. He was just a little less angry when he was around Sylvain.

Most of the time, at least.

“Okay, what is wrong?” Felix snapped, dropping his hand as he was sick of demonstrating different grips. Sylvain froze.

“What do you mean?” He asked, features softening. He reached out to tangle his fingers with Felix’s, but Felix pulled away before he could. “Is there something going on?”

“You’re hiding something. Spit it out.” Felix narrowed his eyes. “Did someone fight you?”

“It’s not always about fighting,” Sylvain teased, but his eyes were elsewhere. “Are you sure _you_ didn’t get into a fight? It’s been a few days, hasn’t it?”

Felix’s gaze turned icey. “Don’t change the subject, Gautier. I’m not stupid. I know something is wrong.”

  
Sylvain threw his hands up. “What if something isn’t wrong besides, you know, the fact that our friends are on a quest to find the gods? Maybe I’m stressed out about that.” He tried to cup Felix’s cheek but Felix grabbed his hand out of the air. Sylvain frowned. “I don’t want to talk about it, Fe.”

“Tough. We’re dating. You should tell me when things are wrong.” Felix took a deep breath. He let go of Sylvain’s hand. “Our friends will be fine. Nothing’s killed Dimitri yet.”

“You’re right.” Sylvain put on his most dashing smile, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “You’re so smart. I’m lucky I have you.” His voice was hollow.

Felix wanted to grab Sylvain by the shoulders and shake him back and forth. Instead, he counted to ten and tried to think about how this was the person he had decided to throw his lot in with. Maybe he should drop the subject and just sit there, letting Sylvain stew in his problems. Maybe someone else would do that.

“You are lucky that you have me.” Felix stood. “I have to get back to training.”

“You were just training,” Sylvain pointed out with a frown. “Did I do something…?”

“Figure it out.” Felix ignored the tug in his chest as he marched away.

****

_“Welcome to Phoenix. We are happy to help you. If you have any questions, please see our information kiosks located by the escalators.”_ A mechanical voice reported as Dimitri, Claude, and Edelgard exited the plane. The airport air was only slightly fresher than the plane, but he was just happy to be off the metal tube. Just because he was the son of Zeus didn’t mean that he liked flying, especially not when it involved small spaces.

“What next?” Edelgard asked.

“We get out of here,” Claude said. He kept glancing back and forth, his fingers toying with the zipper on his bag. Edelgard didn’t look much better. Dimitri steeled himself, aware that he was supposed to be leading this.

“It would be good to determine next steps somewhere safer,” he agreed. The trio had to squeeze around a couple arguing about missing luggage and a trash can. “We need to figure out how we’re getting to California.”

“We might not have money for a flight. Should we call Byleth?” Edelgard wondered.

“I feel like we should save that for if we get in a really bad place. Besides, do you want to fight here?” Claude gestured towards a glass display case that had lots of words that were in tiny font on equally tiny metal plaques. There were old bowls and arrowheads inside — some kind of exhibit? Weird, but it did prove Claude’s point that this was probably not the place to throw down with a monster, as if the dozens of mortals weren’t enough deterrent.

“How much money do we have?” Dimitri asked. Edelgard went over it again. The bag Byleth had given her was an attention-drawing nightmare, but three kids were getting fewer looks than Dimitri would have thought. But what he was worried about was the money. “We cannot get plane tickets for that much. Did we get a refund for changing flights?”

“It would have gone onto the card Byleth used,” Claude pointed out. In Dimitri’s defense, it wasn’t like he had ever gotten plane tickets before. “We should see if there’s a Greyhound nearby.”

“Like the bus?” Edelgard raised an eyebrow. “I haven’t been on that in years. Aren’t they slow?”

“Do you have a better plan?” Claude replied. Edelgard looked at Dimitri. He shook his head.

And that was how they located a kind woman who told them where to get to the Greyhound, walked fifteen minutes in the heat, and learnt that there wasn’t another bus until 6:30. That would be in six hours.

"You can wait here," the bored clerk said, gesturing towards the waiting area. There were a dozen people in various levels of awareness, the pungent smell of weed was in the air, and Dimitri was simultaneously too cold and too warm. He glanced at the others.

Silently, Edelgard took their tickets, shoved them into her bag, and left the station. Claude and Dimitri followed.

"So what are we doing for six hours?" Claude asked, stretching his arms out wide. Dimitri glanced around. After so long at Camp, it was odd to be surrounded by freeways and cars and to have airplanes fly over like it was nothing.

It was also incredibly warm, to the point where Dimitri was tempted to strip his flannel off and wear it around his waist. The sun was way too bright, like Apollo was personally scorning Dimitri. He couldn't think of a reason that the sun god would be mad at him, but Dimitri had long since decided that he couldn't guess the wishes of the gods. That was courting disaster.

_Two eagles fly high as hope, one falls in the end,_ he thought.

"What's on your mind, Dimitri?" Claude nudged him with his elbow.

_Just thinking about my inevitable death._ Dimitri didn't say it. He just shrugged.

"Well, we cannot stay here for six hours." Edelgard pointed across the street, where a bus stop sat. There was a cover but the sun was shining right inside, which rendered the whole thing pointless. "We can get the bus somewhere?"

"To where?" Claude and Edelgard kept talking, but Dimitri could only feel himself start floating away. Not literally, but almost.

There was a nagging at the back of his head, the sensation that he needed to be elsewhere. He felt loose, unattached — like he could start flying right then and there which, technically, was possible. A balloon grasped in a child’s hand, just one second away from floating into the painfully blue sky.

_Son of Zeus, come to me,_ a voice said, low and rumbling. _We must talk. We must talk. We must talk. We—_

“Hey!” There was a car horn and Dimitri felt himself get yanked back by the shoulder.

He blinked. The car that almost hit him honked again, the driver flipping him off and yelling at him in unintelligible gibberish. Edelgard tightened her grip until his shoulder ached. Her eyes were wide, brown hair buffeted about by a sudden breeze that blew through the parking lot. The hot desert air stung Dimitri’s eyes.

“Are you okay?” She looked at him carefully. He nodded, trying to remember how to speak.

“I think we should explore. Besides, when else are we going to be in Arizona?” He tried to smile. He wasn’t sure he succeeded. Claude was too kind to say anything but Edelgard just frowned. “It was nothing. Just — an odd feeling. Nothing.” Demigods didn’t just get feelings. Their feelings were dangerous. Dimitri knew this. He had known this since he was a child.

For a moment, he felt like a short, scrawny child again trying to convince his mother that the man really did only have one eye or that the dog was breathing fire. He wasn’t crazy. He wasn’t.

Right?

“Let’s go,” Edelgard decided, and Dimitri followed.

****

“Hey, what are you doing here?” It was Annette. She stood by the fence to the training arena, well away from where Felix was hacking at a row of training dummies. He ignored her, continuing his bladework. Sweat dripped down his forehead and made his hands slick. His sword gleamed gold, a contrast to the bronze most demigods used. Most knew better than to ask. He wasn’t bothering with his shield, just swinging his blade with full force.

It was instinct. That was the problem. It was too easy to just let the anger consume him, let the redhot rage burn its way through his every nerve until he was a husk that could barely stand straight. But it was also too casual, too simple, and too easy for his mind to drift back to the way Sylvain had shut him down, how Sylvain had stuck to his lies even when Felix could read him like an opening in a fight…

Felix grit his teeth and lunged. His sword went through the dummy and he yanked upward, a messy slice that had no business on the battlefield but certainly looked dramatic with straw spraying everywhere.

“I know you heard me,” Annette called over. “Now, do you want something to eat or is this some weird Ares thing?”

Because Annette was probably secretly the child of the god of ruining Felix’s conviction, Felix stopped. He glared at her, but she just looked at him unimpressed.

“What time is it?” He asked. His voice was shot. He licked his lips. He needed water.

“Time for you to take a break,” Annette said as he went to where his jug sat. “You’re missing dinner. Your cabin looks lost without you.”

“Good.” Felix chugged his water and then, without a care, dumped the remainder over his head. His hair flattened and he had to shake it out, more than a few strands getting in his eyes. “What are you doing here?”

Annette held out a plate. It was stacked with chicken tenders, French fries, and a few carrot sticks. He stared at it. She wiggled the plate a bit. A French fry fell off.

“What?” Felix wondered if he could get a quick shower in or if Byleth would somehow sense that he was off ditching a meal and get Seteth to—

He shut that train of thought down quickly.

“It’s for you, stupid.” Annette sighed, balancing the plate on a fence post. “Sylvain looked like someone dumped his makeup in the lake.”

_Good,_ Felix thought, immediately followed by, _shit._

“Yeah?” Felix grabbed one of the tenders, ripping into it in the messiest way possible. Annette didn’t look phased. Then again, she did sit at the Hermes table. She saw it all.

“Yes. Did you two get into a fight?”

“No.” Felix said the word around a mouth of chicken. “That would require that we talk.”

“Uh huh.”

“If we aren’t talking about what’s wrong, then we can’t fight. That makes sense, right?” He waved a hand in the air. He was still holding his sword, so the golden blade swooped around the air. Annette looked even less impressed. “Nothing is wrong. I don’t care what Sylvain thinks.”

“Right.” Annette hummed. “Is it something he said?”

“Weren’t you listening? He didn’t say anything. There’s nothing that needs to be said. If he cared, he’d tell me.” Felix bite one of the carrots clean in half. It made a very satisfying noise. He didn’t bother trying to read Annette’s face. His head was too full of static.

No, not static. A dull throb. His heartbeat echoing in his skull, reminding him of the simple fact that fighting was the easiest option. It was in his blood, in his soul. There was no point in trying to go against his base nature and, after all, what could be more different than love? His father and Aphrodite might have been lovers, but their children were fear and pain. Surely Felix wasn’t stupid enough to think he as able to maintain more than that with Sylvain.

Surely Felix wasn’t stupid enough to try obtaining happiness in anyway other than the sword.

“You know, Sylvain really cares about you,” Annette said slowly.

“He has a funny way of showing it,” Felix replied.

“You know that we care about you too,” Annette added. A bitter comment danced on Felix’s tongue. Dimitri was the glue of their little friendship circle. Mercedes took pity on Felix and Ingrid just thought that Felix needed a bit of polish to be an acceptable human. Dedue didn’t even like Felix. The only people who tolerated him beyond the bare minimum were Ashe and Annette, and even then…

Annette brought him dinner.

He held his tongue even though the anger shifted under his skin, beating with his pulse.

“Yeah.” Felix squeezed his eyes shut, rubbing his face with the back of one hand. “I hope they come back soon. I want to fight something.”

Annette smiled. “You never will change, will you? You’re already convinced that this will be bad.”

“I don’t see this ending without bloodshed. Do you?”

“We don’t even know what happened yet. Maybe they’ll figure it all out.” Annette sounded hopeful. Felix almost felt bad crushing her thoughts. Almost.

“Yes, because anything strong enough to trap the gods will certainly be bested by three demigods, one of whom is unclaimed. Sure.” He snorted. “I don’t care who Dimitri and Edelgard’s father is. They are not that strong.”

“Maybe it’s just a challenge by the gods,” Annette suggested, as if the gods could ever agree on anything, let alone hiding and getting Camp to send its first quest out in years. “I just don’t want anyone to get hurt, and if there’s fighting…”

“People get hurt all the time. Tough. Might as well earn your scars.” Felix finished off the food. “If you’re done, I’m going to cool down. Want to join me?”

For a moment, Felix thought she was going to agree but the expression was not curiosity. It was sympathy. He was certain of it.

“I—”

“Fine,” Felix snarled, not letting her finish. “Go back to your cabin. I’m sure that Ashe needs your help corralling all the other unclaimed now that Claude’s gone.” It came out harsh, just like everything else he said. Annette stuck her bottom lip out, eyebrows furrowing.

“Do you ever think about what you say?” She cried out.

“No.”

“You’re so — ugh! You and Sylvain are perfect for one another.” She threw her hands up and spun around. Her pigtails bobbed in the air as she marched away. Felix watched her, stomach churning.

He looked down at his sword. It still shone even in the fading light.

****

“Did you know that the most common cause of forest fires is human error? Apparently the second cause is thunder strikes,” Claude said. Dimitri turned, blinking stars out of his eyes. He was trying — and failing — to read an infographic about thunderstorms that was on another part of the wall.

“Are you going to read everything you see?” Edelgard asked, looking from where she was watching a video on natural disasters.

The Arizona Science Museum in downtown Phoenix was maybe not where Dimitri would spend his afternoon, but it was that or wandering around aimlessly. Claude had seen the sign, had seen that there were student prices, and a bit of quick Mist manipulation had gotten the three of them in for five dollars each.

_Byleth always wants us to learn new things,_ Claude had said when Edelgard pointed out that their money probably was better spent elsewhere. _Besides, where else can we get AC this cheap? Do you want to go to a library?_

So there they were, three demigods on a quest to search for the gods, walking around and learning about things like electricity and natural disasters and the hydraulics. Dimitri didn’t think of himself as stupid, but his head was still throbbing and the letters kept dancing around instead of sitting in place like they were supposed to. He didn’t know if Claude just had a better handle on his dyslexia or what, but he seemed to have no issue as he ran from exhibit to exhibit.

“You feel it too?” Edelgard murmured as he went to join her. He looked at her with wide-eyes. “There’s something here.”

He cast his eyes around the room. There was a family with a gaggle of toddlers, a few other teenagers, and an elderly couple watching a kid run back and forth. Nothing that set off his monster senses, nothing that made him want to draw his spear. Edelgard worried her bottom lip.

“I can’t sense it,” he admitted.

Edelgard sighed. “Maybe I am imagining it…”

“I doubt it. You have always had a sharper sense for things. Does it feel like a monster?”

“I’m not sure…” Edelgard shook her head. “Just keep your eyes open. Maybe Claude is just going to get into a fight with a kid over the next interactive exhibit.” She smiled weakly. Dimitri forced a laugh.

“My money is on Claude,” Dimitri said.

“Hopefully.” Edelgard and Dimitri both looked at Claude at the same time. He was currently reading about flooding and looking far too delighted about it.

They were looking away from the entrance, which is why Dimitri didn’t notice at first. He certainly heard a child screech,

“Kitty!” Then, not half a second later, a much larger roar that was _not_ associated with a small cat.

Dimitri looked towards it and felt what was left in his stomach drop.

“Scatter!” He shouted, unpinning his spear and swallowing down his nerves. In a second, he went from holding a silver pin to holding a gleaming spear. He headed to the right and Edelgard, her shield on one arm and axe in her other hand, went to the left. In front of them, a lion the size of a Jeep stood and let out another roar. Its fur was bright gold, its mane glorious.

“The Nemean Lion? What is it doing here?” Claude wondered somewhere behind Dimitri.

“Probably hunting us,” Edelgard told him. “Any ideas on how to defeat it?”

“Try hard,” Dimitri replied dryly. His lance flickered with lightning, occasionally sparking against the ground and burning the carpet. He advanced slowly at the lion, aware that he did not have anything to heal himself if it decided he was lunch.

It snarled at him but kept looking at Edelgard, her shield catching its attention. It was a copy of Zeus’s own shield, a replica of Medusa’s head stuck in the silver circle. Even though it couldn’t petrify someone, it still made even Dimitri’s blood run cold when he met its gold eyes. Her axe, on the other hand, was a large thing made from the finest Celestial bronze. Between the two, she was the best prepared for the lion, but…

Well, Dimitri had seen one person fight for him and now they were a tree on Half-Blood Hill.

“Ha!” Dimitri charged, lashing out with his spear. He shot a blast of lightning out of the tip and it bounced off the lion’s fur without even shocking it. The attack convinced it to target Dimitri which, unfortunate but fair, and he had to quickly jump back as it lunged.

Arrows flew at it, shot courtesy of Claude, but they might as well have been flies. The lion just kept advancing at Dimitri, who found himself giving ground for lack of any better options. Edelgard came up behind the lion and swung her axe on its back. It looked like she was hitting concrete or brick, sparks flying and the recoil sending her staggering back.

“How did this die originally?” Edelgard cried out.

“I don’t know!” Claude confessed. “I have an idea — keep it busy!” He sounded like he was moving around, but Dimitri didn’t dare turn and look.

“Where are you going?” Edelgard shouted, but then Dimitri had much more important things to keep track of.

He blocked one swipe of the lion’s claws with his spear, ducked under another blow, and grimaced as it roared in his face. Dimitri braced himself as it pounced, catching one paw in his hand and keeping its snarling maw pried open with the shaft of his spear. Even with his divine strength, he could feel his muscles screaming in protest.

The lion had green eyes, just like Dedue. Dimitri didn’t like that.

“Take that!” Claude came out of nowhere, slamming into the lion with his full strength. He barely disturbed it physically, but he was distracting enough that Dimitri was able to push it away from him. Claude held up what he had searched for — a bright red fire extinguisher. “Eat shit!” He shouted, letting loose.

Puffy white foam sprayed wildly as Dimitri leapt for safety. Edelgard rushed to his side, her eyes wide and face flushed. Claude wasn’t smiling, his lips set in a thin line as he used the extinguisher to blast the lion with chemical spray. Dimitri gulped in air, feeling every nerve alight. His head was finally clear. His heart pounded in his chest. He eyed the lion and didn’t feel fear, not even as it swiped at Claude and cut the fire extinguisher in half with sharp claws that could shish-kebab a demigod. He wasn’t sure what that said about him.

“We can’t kill it,” Edelgard said. “Heracles killed it originally. How are we—”

The lion turned and snarled at them. She raised her shield right as it lashed out. Edelgard stumbled back as Dimitri took a chance, aiming his spear for the lion’s eyes.

It moved just in time, the blade harmlessly sparking off its cheek.

Dimitri tried going on the offensive, swinging his spear as quickly as he could. He could almost picture Felix yelling at him, taunting him for not being fast enough to land a blow, only this enemy was large enough that it could just sit on him and kill him and it was a lot more open about its feelings. The lion wanted him as a snack. Dimitri couldn’t oblige.

“Claude, any other plans?” Dimitri shouted in-between blows.

An arrow whizzed over Dimitri’s shoulder, a little close for comfort, and shattered against the lion’s fur. “We can try to run?”

“We cannot outrun it,” Edelgard protested, ever the voice of realism.

“Do you have better ideas?”

Dimitri ignored them, pressing forward. Time seemed to slow. He could see what the lion would do before it happened. He could block it, push it back. He couldn’t damage it, but he could match it. Pound for pound, he was fighting the mighty Nemean Lion. He wasn’t winning, not yet, but he wasn’t losing.

The world narrowed. There was no science center. There was no exhibit. Edelgard and Claude barely registered. There was just him, the lion, and—

No, just the two of them.

Dimitri blinked. He hesitated. The lion looked at him, its back legs tensing and jaw flexing. It pounced.

“Dimitri!” Edelgard screamed as he was covered by a loose metric shit-ton of fur.

He grabbed the first thing he could see, which was the mouth. One hand went around an upper canine and the other grasped the bottom jaw. His spear was discarded somewhere he couldn’t see, golden fur an oppressive coat around him.

_I am going to die,_ Dimitri thought. _I am going to die here._

The lion should have been able to snap his head off, should have been able to mangle him with his claws. But it didn’t. Dimitri didn’t question it, just channelled every last ounce of strength and _pushed._

Lightning surged through his body and up his hands. The Nemean Lion was impenetrable from the outside, but there was nothing protecting it from the inside. Nothing stopping thousands of volts of electricity from travelling from Dimitri’s hands and landing right into its mouth.

It went limp above him and it was only with a tremendous shove that Dimitri pushed it off. He coughed, trying to get air back in his lungs. Before he could look around, Claude and Edelgard were by his side, their weapons still drawn.

"Are you okay?" Edelgard said at the same time as Claude exclaimed,

"I thought you were dead!”

"Thank you for your confidence," Dimitri mumbled, spitting to the side and mentally apologizing to the poor janitor who would have to clean later. "Where are the mortals?" He didn't see a single security guard, though there was a crowd of people running around confused.

"I did something with the Mist — we should have enough time to leave without any issues." Claude winced as someone screamed _fire!_ and an alarm started to go off. The sprinklers whirled to life and, unceremoniously, Dimitri found himself soaking wet.

"Great," Edelgard muttered, but she was eyeing the body of the lion. It sat there, a massive obstacle in the middle of the room. Only, no, it was shrinking.

Dimitri watched as it went from a huge lion to a pelt small enough to throw over his shoulders and wear as a cape to a weirdly themed Halloween party. He waited but, when neither of the others moved, he reached out to grab it. The pelt was surprisingly soft under his fingers.

When he touched it, it turned into a dark blue jean jacket.

"Spoils to the victor. It's all yours, man," Claude said.

Dimitri nodded. "We should leave." He stood, throwing the jacket over one shoulder. As he started sneaking towards the exit, he heard,

"Son of Zeus!"

Edelgard swore when she ran into him, sending him stumbling forward. Claude grabbed his arm, keeping him upright.

"You good?" He asked, eyebrows furrowed. Dimitri nodded, not trusting his tongue. "Let's get back to the station."

There were no arguments from Dimitri. He was too busy trying to shake the sense that someone was watching him.


	3. you keep me up at night

_**you keep me up at night** _

Byleth didn’t dream often. When they did, it was often a sign of things to come. So it was rather odd when they dreamt of things that had already happened. This time, it was a vision of a god giving a gift to a human. 

No, not a god. A titan. 

Prometheus was not someone Byleth had ever met personally. By the time they had come to their immortality, he was long gone. Not a shame in their opinion. Contesting the god was a risk that he had chosen and his punishment was his to bear. But that still didn’t explain what they saw. 

In their dream, his face was covered with long hair and his hands were the only part that they could clearly see. The rest of his body was shrouded in shadow as he faced a human, small and scared. He cupped something warm in his hand as he reached out and the human, cold and fearful and utterly hopeless, took it. 

“A gift to my greatest creation,” Prometheus said. 

The warmth spread over the human, sudden intelligence lighting in their eyes, and Byleth knew that nothing would ever be the same. 

They woke up fully alert, heart pounding in their chest.  _ Jeralt, what would you say about this? _ They thought. The question was odd. They hadn’t thought of their father — human, mortal, long gone — since the gods had a brief stint in England. What color was his eyes? They couldn’t remember. 

Byleth sighed. They stood, checking their wind-up clock. It was early enough that they could attempt to sleep more, but they knew better than to try. They had existed through some of the worst moments in humanity, and each time there was a brief break beforehand. A pause, the moment someone took in a breath of air before speaking. 

Right now, Byleth could feel the pause. They were just waiting for the exhale.

Someone knocked on their door. 

“Byleth, are you awake?” It was Flayn, the other resident of the Big House. Even though she was technically the demigod daughter of Seteth, as Seteth didn’t have a cabin she was afforded certain privileges. Byleth liked to think of her as a little sister, only they hadn’t the faintest idea what that actually entailed. It was normal for children to take centuries to grow up, right? 

Demigods were just like that.

“Good morning, Flayn,” Byleth said, opening their door. They slept in a sweater and jeans, so they did not need to change to look presentable. “What may I help you with?” 

“Have you spoken with my dad at all?” Flayn asked. She toyed with the bottom of her blouse, hair done in fraying braids. Byleth wondered if they were the same braids Seteth had put in the night before he vanished. 

They wondered if Seteth would actually return. To use a very human sentiment, they would not put money on it. 

“Not since the second day,” Byleth replied honestly.

“I keep thinking about it. Something isn’t right about it. I can’t believe that he would just leave like that. He loves Camp! He loves it here.” Flayn stomped her foot. “Something is wrong.”

“Yes,” Byleth agreed. “The gods are in danger. He left.” 

“But why would he leave the safest place in the world? No monsters can get in. No mortals can get in. If another god came within the boundaries, you would feel it, wouldn’t you?” 

Byleth shrugged. Contrary to popular belief, they were not the spirit of Camp manifested into corporeal form. They just let the campers believe what they wanted. The theories got wilder with each generation. 

Flayn wrapped her arms around herself. She wasn’t looking Byleth in the eyes. “I just want to know where he is.” 

Centuries of changing social rules left Byleth a bit adrift most of the time, but they knew enough to reach out and put an arm around Flayn. They gave her a pat on the back, not too gentle but just firm enough to be reassuring. It was enough because Flayn then wrapped her arms around Byleth, just tall enough to call it a hug. 

“I know it sounds silly, but I realized that I don’t remember being away from him before,” Flayn confessed.    
  
“You were young.” Byleth could remember it, faintly, if they tried hard enough. Seteth, coming to them with a toddler, saying that she would live with them now and refusing to answer questions about her mother. Byleth hadn’t asked many. They knew how things went for mortals unfortunate enough to fall in love with a god. 

“Yes, I was. And he has always been here for me. Even when he was being overbearing, I knew it came from a good place.” Flayn laughed. She was still hugging Byleth, though not as tightly. They did not mind. They recalled that physical contact was important for humans. Presumably it was the same for demigods. “Though, I think he has permanently scarred a few of the campers.” 

Once again, Byleth shrugged. They had certainly terrified more than one camper into compliance before. It worked and it was less permanent than maiming someone or tossing them into the forest to let the denizens there deal with. That hadn’t been their favorite method and they were glad when Olympus finally determined that it was not a healthy way to deal with disobedience. 

“He will return.” Byleth did not think they were lying. They didn’t like to lie. “He is strong. He will be fine.” 

“If it’s something that could capture Zeus and the others, then what can my father do?” Flayn pulled away. Byleth let her go. She rubbed at her eyes and Byleth realized that Flayn had been crying, was still crying a little, and that this was exactly what they had spent years learning how to handle. 

It wasn’t the first time a camper had come to the Big House in tears thinking about their parents. Most campers like to pretend that they hadn’t. 

“Come.” Byleth took Flayn’s hand and led her down the stairs into the kitchen. They had her sit on one of the creaky stools and then started to heat water in a kettle. “Why are you worried about his return?” They asked. 

“It just feels wrong. Do you ever see something and know that it’s wrong? Like a stoplight that’s the wrong color or a person with too many teeth. Even if you do not know what is different, you can tell.” Flayn sighed, putting her elbows on the counter and her chin in her hands. “I sound like a child, but I  _ know _ that there is something I am not seeing.”

“You are a child,” Byleth reminded her as the water started to boil. They took the kettle off the heat and began to pour it into two different mugs. Next came the little packets of instant hot chocolate. This kind had little marshmallows in it. Kids liked the marshmallows. 

They set one mug — big, ugly, and green — in front of Flayn. The other they held onto, the warmth seeping through their hands. It started to remind them of their dream, but they had never had any issues having a blank expression. They didn’t need to put the stress of their dream on Flayn, after all. 

“Maybe I should talk to the Oracle. Maybe that’s what I need to do,” Flayn said before taking a sip of the drink. Byleth shook their head. Flayn scowled, but the look was ruined by the hot chocolate moustache across her upper lip. “Why not?”

“You are not going on a quest.” Byleth took a sip of their hot chocolate. It was okay. The artificial sweetener was a bit weak compared to actual cocoa, but that was expensive and harder to prepare. 

“He’s my father. I should have been able to volunteer.” 

“You are too young.” It was a conversation they had carried out many times with many campers. Flayn would not get any different answer than the past centuries of demigods. “Seteth would not want you harmed.” 

“I am still a demigod. I have training.” Flayn looked like she wanted to say more, but there was suddenly a knock on the front door. It was far from the kitchen, but the Big House had a way of having people hear what they needed to hear. 

Byleth gave Flayn one last look, eyebrows drawn low and mouth a frown, before going to answer the door. 

It was Marianne. Byleth stepped aside, giving her space to enter. Marianne nodded, clutching her large pink jacket close despite the fact that it was already warming up. 

“H-Hello, Byleth. How are you today? I hope I did not wake you…” Marianne looked down at the floor. “Oh, I’m tracking mud inside… I don’t even know how that got there.” 

“It is fine.” Byleth crossed their arms. “What is wrong?” 

“It’s my dreams.” Marianne shuddered. When the daughter of Moros, the deity of doom, had bad dreams, it was best to listen. “It always starts the same. It’s dark. There’s a voice. It — It asks me to join them. To reach out and join them.”

“A voice?”

“Yes. I think it’s a woman’s voice? But I’ve never heard them before. It’s a stranger.” Marianne bit her bottom lip. Byleth raised an eyebrow. “I am used to hearing — hearing my father. Or hearing one of the Moirai. It is usually smaller things, like we’ve discussed. Except…” There was a pregnant pause in the conversation. 

Byleth did not like thinking of it either, the circumstances around Glenn’s death. They had hoped that, by sending the most skilled finder and one with a fairly low scent, they could avoid the fate Marianne had seen. In doing so, they got one of the most promising demigods killed not five minutes from Camp. 

It was one of the most costly mistakes Byleth had made in a while. The tree that stood guard would never let them forget. 

“But this is different. It is not one of them. And she wants me to do something, they don’t usually want me to do something.” Marianne’s voice started to rise. “I can see flames in the darkness, then hear screams. It’s smokey — my lungs hurt. I can’t see anyone, but I can hear them. They’re calling for me and they want my help and the voice says that I — I can only help them by accepting her. By taking her hand.” Marianne looked up and Byleth saw that her eyes were full of tears. 

Silently, Byleth opened their arms for the second time that morning. Marianne eagerly fell into the hug, sniffing and getting snot all over Byleth’s sweater. That was fine — they were quite used to it. They stood like that for a while. Long enough that the clock struck seven. Marianne flinched as it started to chime.

“I’m scared,” she confessed. “This scares me. I thought I was past this.” 

“You may never grow past things. You are a daughter of Moros. You cannot change that.” Byleth looked down at her. Marianne’s roots were growing out. They expected Caspar and Hilda to make another raid to the local convenience store for more hair dye, though they probably would have to address it if they didn’t get better at hiding it. “That is not a bad thing. You are more than your origins.”

“I wish I was not like this,” Marianne said with surprising vitriol. “I wish I did not have to suffer through this.”

Byleth nodded. “I know. We will solve this. I will keep you safe.” It was all Byleth could promise, but they would. They would not lose more campers. They would not lose more of their kids.

****

“So good news, the bus we want to go north is going to leave in about three hours. The bad news, we have another three hours to kill,” Claude announced. He held out his bag of Cheetos, courtesy of the vending machine in the Los Angeles Greyhound Station. Dimitri took a handful but Edelgard looked at it like it had offended her. The granola bars and Cheez-Its had been consumed for dinner last night on the bus. Claude shrugged. “What would you two like to do while we’re in the greatest city in America?” 

“The greatest city is New York,” Edelgard said. 

“Nah.”

“The gods will smite you.” 

Claude looked a lot less concerned about this than Dimitri would have been. Then again, he had probably had more face-to-face conversations with gods than Claude.  _ Son of Zeus  _ and all that.

“We should make plans,” Dimitri suggested. 

“I do not want to spend another three hours here.” Edelgard crossed her arms. “I couldn’t get any sleep. I feel terrible. These lights hurt my head.” 

Dimitri nodded. He hadn’t gotten much sleep either, too worked up after the Nemean Lion fight. He wasn’t too sure how they weren’t attacked in the night, considering they had arrived at midnight and it was now the morning, but he wasn’t complaining. The pelt-jacket had been a pretty good pillow, though Edelgard had turned down his offer to share it. At the very least, he wasn’t hearing voices anymore, even if he kept thinking that someone was looking at him when his back was turned. 

“Well, we are close to downtown LA. We can get something to eat there, walk around a bit.” Claude tugged at his shirt. “Wish I had brought more clothes though. I feel gross.” 

Edelgard got to her feet. “Yes, well, let’s focus on finding something to eat that is not from a machine. We do not have that much money left though, so we should be frugal.” 

“Well, we should get to the mountain tomorrow. How much food do you think we need?” Dimitri asked. Edelgard and Claude both looked at him. Dimitri decided to backtrack. “We can get something here, I am certain. Do you know of any good places?” 

Claude stood. “Just to set expectations, I haven’t been here since I was a kid, but I have some ideas.” 

_ Some ideas _ ended up being a bus ride and a quick walk to a street filled with people, vendors selling all kinds of cheesy LA merch and colorful toys, and the smell of food that made Dimitri’s mouth water. There was a sign out from that said  _ Welcome to Olvera Street _ , or at least that was what Claude said. Dimitri could make out most of it, but cursive was a bitch in the best of circumstances. 

Claude led them down the street until they found a man with a cart selling tacos. Dimitri felt like he was only getting judged a little when the three of them sat down with their breakfast. Edelgard squirted a bit of hand sanitizer out for each of them, which was probably a good idea after spending the night in the Greyhound station. 

“I went here once on a family vacation,” Claude explained between bites. “I’m glad I remembered this place.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever had real Mexican food,” Dimitri confessed. “It tastes very good. Do you think that we could get the harpies to learn this?” 

“Dimitri, I’m going to be real with you. I don’t think the harpies know how to cook anything more complex than pancakes and pizza,” Claude said. 

“The food is not that bad,” Edelgard protested.

“You both have been at Camp too long. You need to remember what real food is like.” Claude grinned. “Am I the only one who feels weird eating outside of Camp?” 

“And yet we are still at a picnic table,” Dimitri pointed out. Claude laughed and even Edelgard managed a smile. “Did we get anything besides chicken? Not that these are not delicious, I am just curious.”

Claude shook his head. “I don’t eat pork, so I didn’t want to risk it.”

“I didn’t know you didn’t eat pork?” Edelgard tilted her head. Her hair was up in a ponytail, probably to keep from having to confront the fact that it was dirty. Dimitri could feel how gross his hair was. 

“Yeah, it’s not haram.” Claude saw the looks on their faces and sighed. “Like — it’s not allowed. It literally means forbidden.” 

“That’s not Greek,” Dimitri said slowly.

Claude looked like he was torn between slamming his head on the table and rolling his eyes. “It’s Arabic.” When that didn’t make Edelgard and Dimitri suddenly understand, he continued, “I’m Muslim.”

“You’re a demigod,” Dimitri said.

“I can be both.” Claude waved a hand. “My mom and dad are Muslim. Well, my mom converted. But I was raised Muslim. Boy was it a surprise to learn that it’s a bit more complicated than just one guy up there.” 

“But the gods are real.” Edelgard’s tone wasn’t cruel, but more curious. Dimitri looked between them as they spoke, feeling the sensation of watching a volleyball game. 

Claude nodded. “Yeah. So’s Allah.” 

“But doesn’t — isn’t the whole idea that there’s only one guy? How does that work?” Edelgard leaned forward as she spoke. Dimitri wondered if anyone could overhear them and what they thought. Did the Mist protect them from being eavesdropped on? 

“Allah created all. Who’s to say that he didn’t create the gods that claim to stand over Camp? Besides, you know the gods aren’t perfect. It makes sense that there’s someone else out there who has them manage the small stuff.” Claude caught Dimitri’s eyes. There was a cautious shine in Claude’s gaze. Dimitri wondered if this was what it felt like to be on stage and on display. “What do you think, Dimitri? Have any questions?”

“I won’t claim to understand, but if you are comfortable with it, then so am I,” DImitri answered earnestly. He didn’t think he could deceive Claude if he even wanted to, but it truly wasn’t an issue. He didn’t have a religious childhood, but there had to be other demigods who were raised thinking of one God or another and would have had to reconcile that after being claimed. 

He looked at the remnants of his taco. “Should we do anything different? I do not want you to feel unwelcome.”

“Nah, don’t worry about it.” Claude stretched his arms back and yawned. “I’ve figured things out for myself, but thanks.” He looked at Edelgard, who seemed to be thinking about something. He waved a hand in front of her face and she blinked, startled out of her thoughts. 

“Is everything okay?” Dimitri asked her.

“Yes. Just thinking.” She put a smile on her face. “Does Allah have demigods?” 

Claude laughed, but not maliciously. “No, he definitely does not.”

Edelgard thought about it. Dimitri played with his napkin while he waited. There was a chattering family at the table next to them, their kids chowing down on tacos while the parents watched. The dull throb of jealousy hit Dimitri, but he swallowed it down when he looked away. He didn’t think about his mother much, but whenever he did he regret it. 

Sharing his secret with the Fates and his friends had been harder and easier than he thought. He mostly was happy that Edelgard hadn’t asked him any questions about it. 

“If Allah does not have demigods, then he may be better than most of the gods,” Edelgard finally said. Claude laughed again.

“Yeah, probably.” 

Dimitri found that he couldn’t argue with either of them. He stared at his food, suddenly not hungry. It just felt like a waste to toss any.

“Son of Zeus,” a voice called, the same voice as Dimitri had heard before. He froze, trying to scan the area for the source. Just like every time before, he couldn’t see anyone. 

Edelgard was saying something, but her voice sounded like she was underwater. Dimitri felt a hand on his shoulder, but he shrugged her off. His head started to spin. The tacos felt like a mistake as nausea hit like the Minotaur. 

“Be warned,” the voice continued. Dimitri swallowed. It sounded closer.  _ He _ sounded closer. 

“— go,” Claude was saying. He stood up, giving Dimitri a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “You good, man? Need some water?” 

Dimitri shook his head. “Do you hear anyone nearby?” He asked. 

“I mean.” Claude gestured around them. There were people. Dimitri could imagine that one of them might have said something that he misheard. Maybe that was it. Maybe he wasn’t hearing a voice. 

And maybe he was actually the son of Hermes. 

“I just — I thought I heard something.” Dimitri shook his head. “It is nothing. Shall we return to the bus?” 

“I need to go to the bathroom first. Give me a second.” Claude walked off, presumably to find a restroom. Edelgard and Dimitri remained at the table, sitting with the remnants of chicken tacos sitting awkwardly between them.

Dimitri cleared his throat. “I’m not going crazy,” he said. Belatedly, he realized that was something a crazy person would say. 

“I know.” Edelgard looked him in the eyes. “If you were hearing someone, you know you could tell me.” 

“Are you hearing someone too?” Dimitri didn’t know if he wanted Edelgard to be dealing with this too, but the idea that he wasn’t the only person did make him feel a bit relieved. Maybe it was something to do with being a demigod and not just his mind playing tricks on him.

“No,” Edelgard said. Dimitri wasn’t sure he believed her. “Come on, let’s make sure Claude doesn’t get lost.” She stood up and then started to go where Claude had headed. She hesitated. “If you wanted to talk about the airport…”

Dimitri felt like someone had taken a baseball bat and, while he was on the ground, started beating him over the head with it. He couldn’t look at Edelgard. Even though he knew his body was fine, knew that Zeus had blessed him from Olympus with a form that fit his mind and would age and grow like any other, he could still remember when it wasn’t like that. When he was still seen as a girl. 

_ You should be thankful, _ Felix had hissed.  _ Your privilege outshines us all. _ Dimitri had taken his brother away and then got to flaunt a new body across Camp. Felix’s father was trans and still had barely let him do puberty blockers and then Dimitri… 

It hadn’t mattered when a piece of plastic was weighted as more important than anything else. 

“Sorry,” Edelgard said. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay.” A pause. 

“I am—” 

“You know you’re—”

Dimitri cleared his throat. He stood, slapping the back of his neck. There was a tingling there, a crawling sensation that someone was looking at him. 

“Sorry,” he said. 

“It’s fine. Let’s find Claude.” Edelgard didn’t wait for a response. Dimitri felt someone grab his shoulder. 

There was no one there when he looked. 

****

Sylvain’s favorite dreams usually involved very few clothes, a little bit of screaming, and maybe some blood if he was in the mood for it. This had the last two, but not in a sexy way. More like “the end of the world” vibes which, if he had any opinion, was a bit of a mood killer. 

Everything was on fire. 

Everyone was screaming. 

The gods were dead. 

He wasn’t sure how he knew the last part, but he did. The gods were as dead as they could be dead, cut into a thousand tiny pieces and cast into the darkness they had banished their own parents to. No longer could they sire demigods and leave them to be manipulated and abused. No longer could they maintain domination over a world that was fading. 

The world was on fire, everyone was screaming, the gods were dead, and Sylvain was having a great time. He wondered if that was wrong. He knew it was wrong. He didn’t care even as the flames licked his face. 

_ It’s because of you, Sylvain. You can do this. _

Sylvain could have laughed if he had control of himself. He was just the son of Aphrodite. He wasn’t anyone special, was barely one of the major demigods. Never in his wildest dreams had he ever imagined making the gods suffer for what they had done. 

Now a voice was trying to tell him otherwise? Yeah, he’d pass. 

_ Reach for my hand. I’ll take you away.  _ It was a woman’s voice projected into his head. A throbbing beat that pierced his skull and wormed into his ears. 

He was just along for the ride, and right now he was on a rollercoaster showing him the fall of everything the gods created. Western civilization? Over. The systematic abandonment and mistreatment of demigods? Finished. But not the end of all things. There were still people. There was still life. Sometimes a forest needed to burn to help the growth. Why couldn’t the same happen here? 

_ You know that this is what the world needs. You could change the world for the better. No one would ever need to be hurt like you were hurt. _

Sylvain felt something shake him, but he pushed it back. He was in an endless void, the heat taken away. Now he was cold to his bones, teeth chattering. Something was watching him. 

She was watching him. 

“Who are you?” Sylvain tried to call out, but his throat refused to make words. He tried stepping forward, but it was like his whole body was encased in gelatin, in something thick and heavy that weighed him down. “Let me out of here,” he wanted to scream. 

He didn’t care if they wanted the gods dead. He would watch and roast marshmallows on the fiery remains of Mount Olympus. But he wouldn’t let this person trap him like some kind of interesting insect. 

_ Oh, Sylvain, how little you know… We will talk soon. _

_ I want to talk now, _ Sylvain thought. But he was suddenly pushed over the edge of nothing, tumbling through darkness as whatever held him finally let go. He could feel his stomach in his throat and his heart in his stomach. His limbs flailed about, trying desperately to grab onto something, anything. There were eyes on him, that presence watching him fall and silently reminding him that he only needed to ask and she would help him. 

“Sylvain!” 

He woke up with a shout and almost slammed his forehead into Makalov’s. His younger brother yelped and was tugged back by one of their other siblings, Marcia. There was a crowd of worried faces, the entire cabin circled around their leader. 

Try as he might, he couldn’t summon the energy for a smile. He was well aware that he was soaked in sweat and, from the lack of light coming in from the windows, it was still too early to be awake. 

“You were thrashing around,” Makalov said. “You looked like you were having a nightmare.” 

“I’m fine.” Sylvain flinched when Marcia pressed the back of her hand to his forehead. She yelped, drawing her hand back. 

“Your head is on fire. You need to rest,” she said, as if she was sixteen not six. 

“I’m okay,” Sylvain lied. “Everyone go back to sleep. I might just have a fever.” He sneezed to sell it. The fear of getting sick and, worse,  _ looking _ sick was enough to start dispelling his siblings. Soon enough, Sylvain was left alone in his corner of the cabin. 

Being the head of the Aphrodite Cabin had its benefits, like having a bit of extra space and the spot closest to the window. He pushed the silk curtain back a bit, looking out at the central fire that never went out. It wasn’t hard to crane his neck and see the ugly red Ares Cabin, complete with the boar that hung over the doorway like some terrible guardian. He wondered if Felix was awake. He then chided himself for thinking that. 

Son of Aphrodite or not, there was cute pining and then there was  _ that _ . 

Sylvain didn’t bother to try to fall back asleep. He knew it wasn’t happening. Instead, he reached for the book on his bedside table. There was enough moonlight and ambient light from the fairy lights strung around the cabin that he could read if he squinted — and no, not because he needed glasses, whatever Mercedes said. 

Unlike most demigods, Sylvain was born without dyslexia. He still had enough of a time with his ADHD, but when you looked like a child model you could get away with bad behavior. When you  _ were _ a child model, you could do whatever your little heart desired. 

_ Until your brother tries to abandon you on a Colorado ski slope, _ Sylvain thought. He sighed. Suddenly, reading didn’t sound as interesting. 

The other benefit of being head of the cabin meant he got the only real bed, which was supposed to mean that he had more space to mess around with a partner. Since Felix wouldn’t be caught dead canoodling, as the younger campers called it, Sylvain just got extra space to spread out and stare at the ceiling. The smell of Makalov’s cologne wafted over him. He hoped nothing had spilled. If he wanted, he could have gotten up and checked, but he didn’t find that he cared enough. 

He must have fallen asleep at some point, because suddenly the sun was shining and his siblings were running around the cabin. The normal hustle and bustle of his siblings getting ready for the day was both reassuring and stressful. Sylvain was hungry, but the idea of eating just made his stomach churn. 

“Hey, give me a second and then we can go to breakfast,” Sylvain called, swinging his legs out of bed. 

Maribelle shook her head, tutting him with a finger wag. “No, no, you stay in bed. I will lead the cabin today. I’ll fetch you something to eat later,” she said. Her hair was half-curled, the other half still a work in progress. 

Sylvain gave her a smile. “You sure, sis? Don’t want you to get any grey hair stressing over the kids.” 

“I will be fine. I am not a child.” Maribelle stuck her nose in the air. 

The Aphrodite Cabin was maybe the second largest, right behind Hermes, but Sylvain had been leader long enough to have a good handle on how to keep everyone in line. Even if he didn’t like kids, hadn’t wanted to be the leader at first, he still did it. Maribelle regularly got in fights with her younger sisters and still blamed Makalov for ruining her favorite blouse. Still, there was something that tugged at Sylvain’s chest. Not in a bad way, just. Different. 

“Okay. Don’t let Makalov get into anything with the Hermes kids,” Sylvain reminded her.

“Of course not.” With the blessing of the eldest, Maribelle set to whipping the rest of the cabin into shape. Almost as soon as he had adjusted to the chaos, the others were gone. There wasn’t even a single hair dryer still plugged into the wall. 

Sylvain sighed. He turned in his bed, frowning when something crackled. Reaching between the sheets, he withdrew his now crumpled copy of  _ The Song of Achilles. _ Another sigh escaped as he started to smooth the pages down. At least his bookmark was still in place. 

He put the book on his bedside table as a knock rang out in the cabin. Sylvain didn’t even have time to wonder about who it was. 

“Hey, I know you’re in there,” Felix called. “Your siblings all marched by. They were following the one with the umbrella.” He knocked on the door again, fist slamming against the wood. The hinges shook from the force. 

The idea that Felix noticed him and even missed him warmed the marble thing that Sylvain called his heart. Maybe he could be a bit sentimental as a treat. His nerves were still shot to hell, but he stood up and put on a smile before swinging the door open. 

“Hey, babe. You that worried about me?”

“No,” Felix lied. Felix was a terrible liar. But unlike Felix, Sylvain knew when to let a lie slide. 

“Just feeling under the weather,” he said. “Decided to sleep in. Maribelle’s going to bring me back a muffin or something.” 

Felix scoffed. He didn’t ask permission before stepping inside, not quite pushing Sylvain out of the way. Sylvain just moved and Felix closed the door behind him. 

The cabin wasn’t often quiet. With only the two of them there, someone could hear a hair pin drop. Sylvain wasn’t ever in the cabin with just one other person, let alone Felix. It was taboo for a camper to enter the cabin of an opposing god, even if one’s parents got along with the other god. Sylvain assumed that Ares would smite him if he tried to step into Cabin Five. Maybe Aphrodite letting Felix remain on his own two feet was a sign that she wanted Sylvain to get laid? 

_ Gods can’t do anything when they’re missing, _ Sylvain remembered. 

“This place smells terrible,” Felix said, breaking the silence. 

“It smells great,” Sylvain argued, though his heart wasn’t in it. Felix tore his eyes away from a Dream Barbie Mega Mansion — Marcia was six, she got what she wanted — and looked at him. There weren’t many people with eyes bright enough to look gold, but Sylvain would always say that Felix’s eyes were what he fell in love with first. Not even with the normal Aphrodite-type jealousy but something else. 

Felix had laughed the first time Sylvain tried to explain. There hadn’t been a second attempt. 

“Did you want something?” Sylvain asked.

“Do I need to want something? Aren’t we dating? What if I just wanted to say hello?” Felix challenged. He wrapped his arms around himself. Sylvain sighed. “I wanted to make sure you hadn’t died. That was it. I should go. Unlike you, I don’t want to miss breakfast.”

“Do you miss sacrificing something to the gods?” Sylvain suddenly wondered. Felix raised an eyebrow. “With them gone, no one is burning anything. Not even a few wheaties. Do you miss it?”

Outside the cabin, the Athena kids walked by. Sylvain could hear Ingrid arguing with one of her siblings. He wondered where the other Ares kids were. Did they know what Felix was up to? That was hard to believe. Felix wasn’t the kind of person to let others know that he cared, not even Sylvain. Then again, he did have his own unique ways of showing it. Sylvain knew what he was signing up for. He couldn’t get mad. 

That was Felix’s job. 

“I don’t care,” Felix finally said. “The gods will come back and things will go back to normal. We just need to be ready to help that happen.”

Sylvain leaned against one of the bunks, trying his best to look casual. He wasn’t sure he landed in the same field, but he’d blame it on his disheveled hair. 

“Would you want them to come back? Like, if you had a choice. Would you help them?” 

Felix’s eyes narrowed. “Are you suggesting that I would just abandon our parents?” 

Sylvain held up his hands. “It was just a question, Fe. Don’t read that into it.” His words didn’t soothe Felix entirely, but he looked less likely to grab his sword and start swinging. 

“I don’t know,” Felix confessed. “Nothing feels differently right now, but the gods need to come back.”

“Do they really? What do the gods do for us?” 

“They literally run everything,” Felix pointed out. “I don’t love them. You know I don’t care for either of my fathers. But they’re still the gods. We need them.”

Sylvain couldn’t say anything, just looked away. There were other campers outside. The late stragglers, the ones who had scarfed down food and were heading back to their cabin — demigods who relied on Camp to help keep them safe. Was a world without the gods really that much better? It wouldn’t stop any of them from being born. It wouldn’t stop Sylvain from being left with Daddy and Mama Gautier. 

The only good thing about his step-mother was that she barely wanted to acknowledge he existed. If Sylvain was real, then her husband had cheated on her. Miklan had dealt with his concerns a bit more directly. 

“Hey.” Felix grabbed Sylvain’s hand, stopping him from clawing at his wrist. “You aren’t sick.” It wasn’t a question. 

“I’m a little sick,” Sylvain lied. “Just stress, I think.”

They looked into one another’s eyes. Sylvain loved Felix’s eyes. Of course Felix liked his eyes too, even if he never said it. After all, Sylvain’s looks were his best quality. 

“If you want to talk about it, you can tell me,” Felix said earnestly. Sylvain leaned down and gently pressed his lips against Felix’s. It was a bit awkward but Felix returned the kiss, his free hand tangling in Sylvain’s shirt. 

The two of them pulled away too soon for Sylvain’s taste. 

“I think I’ll feel better when Dimitri’s back at Camp and this is all settled.” 

Sylvain always had been a good liar. 


	4. though I know I should know better, well, I can make this work

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of a shorter update, but still a lot happens. As they say, the plot thickens... :)

**_though I know I should know better, well, I can make this work_ **

Once the quest was over, Claude would be happy if he never had to set foot in a bus again. He realized that he basically lived in New York City year-round, but Camp didn’t have buses and he liked it that way. He liked to think that, as far as demigod ADHD went, his attention issues were pretty under control. But two bus rides in as many days made him consider the logistics of walking to San Franscico. 

Still, he was doing better than Dimitri. Claude respected the guy, he really did, but Dimitri was twitching like every bump in the road sent a shock through him. If he was any jumpier, Dimitri might end up stabbing the seat in front of him with his spear. 

And Claude knew that he wasn’t just reading too far into it, because Edelgard — who was sitting on the other side of the aisle — kept looking at Claude with wide eyes. She didn’t seem to have any ideas, but Claude wasn’t imagining the way she tensed whenever Dimitri flinched. 

“Did you hear that?” Dimitri asked suddenly, his gaze turning to Claude. His eyes looked distant and too focused all at the same time.

“What are you hearing?” Claude asked, mind spinning. Dimitri had been acting weird for a while, but he had chalked it up to the quest stress getting to him. But this was starting to seem like a bit more. Hallucinations, maybe? Or something worse? It was hard to tell when one was a demigod. 

“Someone keeps calling for me. He wants to speak to me. It’s — It’s important.” Dimitri twisted around, then looked back at Claude. “I — I don’t know what to do. I want to help.” His voice broke at the end. 

All Claude could do was reach out and grab Dimitri’s shoulder, squeezing tightly. “It’s okay, man. We’ll find out how to help soon.” He flinched when the speaker system screeched into life, the driver telling them that they were coming up on a stop. They’d have fifteen minutes to stretch their legs and go to the bathroom, but then the bus was going all the way north. 

_ That’ll be fine, _ Claude thought.  _ He probably just needs to run around a bit. Fuck, I need to run around. _

“Dimitri, you’ll feel better when we have some fresh air,” Edelgard said from her seat. “I know it’s hard, but it’ll be better when we aren’t in the bus.” She started to reach out, but Dimitri flinched. Claude noticed how tense he was and let him go. 

“It’s not — I just want to know what’s happening. What’s happening to me?” Dimitri’s voice was rising. It was impossible to get privacy on the bus, but now people were starting to pay attention. Claude felt his anxiety rise. The last thing they needed was someone to think they were insane and throwing them out of the bus in the middle of Nowhere, California. 

“I believe that you can hear them,” Claude said carefully. “But we’re going to have to deal with them later, not right now. Can you wait a little bit longer?” 

Dimitri did not look like he could wait, but he nodded and just started rocking back and forth in his seat. He was picking at his cuticles, yanking one too hard and causing blood to start dripping down his hand. Claude looked at Edelgard, who stared back at him. A whole backpack of supplies and no one had thought to bring band-aids. 

_ Go figure, _ Claude thought. 

The stop couldn’t get there soon enough. As the bus opened its front doors, Dimitri bolted from his seat, almost knocking an old man aside in his haste. Edelgard called after him, but she and Claude were held back by the grumbling of the other passengers. Through the windows, Claude could keep an eye on his friend. Dimitri was pacing back and forth, occasionally snapping his head in one direction and freezing like a deer in headlights. He kept fiddling with the pin on his jacket. 

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Claude and Edelgard were off the bus and standing next to Dimitri. He wasn’t looking at them, though he had stopped pacing and was just rocking back and forth on his heels. 

“What is going on?” Edelgard asked. 

“Someone needs my help,” Dimitri said. 

“Yeah, the gods,” Claude replied. “We’re on our way. Can you tell them that we’re trying to help, but they need to leave you alone for right now.” 

Dimitri wrapped his arms around his stomach. His gaze was locked on a rock on the ground. “I’m trying to ignore him, but I — I keep hearing him. I just want to know what he wants.”

“He? Are you sure you aren’t hearing a woman?” Edelgard stepped forward. Claude frowned, feeling a weird mixture of left out and jealous, but she wasn’t so much as glancing in his direction. “Dimitri, this is very important. What is it that you’re hearing?” 

“It — It’s a man. He calls my name. He calls me a hero. A son of Zeus. He wants to talk. I don’t know about what.” Dimitri ran a hand through his hair. It was limp and greasy. Claude didn’t want to know what his own hair looked like. “I can’t look at him, but I know he’s there. He’s been following me since Camp. I wasn’t certain until we got on the bus, but he’s getting louder.”

Claude focused on Edelgard, hoping that she would know more about her brother’s mental state. She was looking at Dimitri with a blank expression, which tossed that theory out the window. 

Dimitri started doing deep breathing. Actually, no, he was hyperventilating. He was  _ definitely _ hyperventilating. Claude started to reach out before stopping, remembering how Dimitri reacted to Edelgrad trying to touch him. The last thing Claude wanted to do was make it worse, but he didn’t know how to make it better. He was used to having the answers and being confronted with something unknown in relation to someone he cared about? He wasn’t a fan.

“We can figure it out once we get up to the Bay. We’re only a few hours out. Do you think the voice can hang in there until then?” Claude asked. Dimitri shook his head. 

“Dimitri, can you drink some water? Do you think that would help?” Edelgard suggested. Once more, Dimitri shook his head. Claude wasn’t sure there was much else to be done, but suddenly Dimitri held stock still.

“Something is here,” Dimitri warned. He pulled out his pin, the metal shimmering as it grew into his celestial bronze spear. 

“What’s here?” Edelgard asked even as she activated her shield. Claude decided to unzip his fanny pack, but didn’t draw his bow. It showed up like a gun to mortals, and there were still too many people around for him to risk it. 

Dimitri didn’t seem to care about Edelgard, Claude, or the mortals. He just took off, running away from the bus and down a cracked, weed-filled road. There was only a moment of hesitation before Claude followed, Edelgard hot on his heels. 

The town wasn’t big and it didn’t take long for them to be at the very edge, a series of half-decrepit houses and dusty roads the only thing in sight. If there were people, they weren’t coming out. Maybe a good thing if they were really being chased by a monster — though unless the monster was a tumbleweed that was caught in a storm grate, Claude didn’t see it. 

“They’re close,” Dimitri said, skidding to a stop. He held his spear up, twisting around so his back wasn’t to any one direction any longer than it had to be. Edelgard had also taken her axe out, but she shook her head when making eye contact with Claude. 

“There is nothing out here,” Edelgard insisted as a creaky door from an equally creaky house opened. A man stepped out, sun casting a dark shadow on his face. 

Claude didn’t try to judge people by appearance too much, but a bald white guy with a red baseball cap made every alarm bell in his head start ringing. He squinted at the text and was only mildly reassured when it said  _ Make Italy Great Again _ . Why Italy, he wasn’t sure, but he decided not to think about it too much. 

“What do we have here?” The man said, placing two meaty hands on his belt buckle. He was a tall guy, probably as tall as Raphael or Dedue, and about as muscular. It was hard to tell since he had a pot belly that wouldn’t have been out of place on Dionysus, but Claude wasn’t about to say that. “Hey, brother, come look at what we got!” 

Dimitri adjusted his grip on his spear but Claude grabbed his shoulder before he could do anything. 

“The Mist covers the mortals’ eyes. We should just leave before something bad shows up,” Claude suggested. 

“No, they’re  _ here _ ,” Dimitri insisted, tugging his shoulder away. He didn’t leave though, so Claude took the victory. 

“I think we just got lost,” Edelgard told the man, putting her axe and shield behind her back. “We’ll get out of your, er, yard.”

The man took a step forward. There wasn’t really a yard, per se, just a place where the pavement gave way for a dirt driveway. A truck sat there, looking older than Claude and practically glued there with rust. A waste, really. Then again, when you looked like you could benchpress your truck and lived in a town smaller than a dime, you probably didn’t have to use it all that much.

“What’s the rush? Stay a while. Don’t worry about your bus.” The man grinned. He had frighteningly perfect teeth. “Bergion, you idiot! Come say hello to our guests.” 

Claude took a step back. “I don’t want to be your guest,” he said. “I think our bus is leaving now, actually.” He turned around, but there was suddenly a man standing on the road. He was perfectly positioned between the trio of demigods and the way back to the Greyhound. Edelgard raised her weapons again. Claude decided now was a good time to draw his bow. 

“Oh, Bergion, I didn’t see you leave,” the first man called. 

“I slipped out the back,” the second man — Bergion — replied. Like his brother, he was huge but he wore a cowboy hat. His shirt had massive sweat stains in the armpits, which Claude was sympathetic towards, but it was also bulging at the seams. The guy needed to get a bigger size and Claude resisted the urge to make a quip that could get him shot. 

Was California a concealed carry state? Did it matter?

“Why don’t you three come on inside?” The first man continued, starting to walk towards them. 

“Albion, don’t try it. They’re demigods.” Bergion tilted his hat towards Edelgard. “Beg your pardon, ma’am, but I’ll be direct. My brother and I here get pretty hungry and demigods such as yourself as rare. But we don’t need three of you. If you wanna hand over the two lads, then we’ll let you pass.”

Edelgard glared, raising her axe. “ _ Eat shit and die, _ ” she snarled in Greek. 

Bergion sighed. “They never understand.” Then, with a groan, he shifted. 

Claude liked to think he was good at seeing through the Mist, but suddenly he and Albion weren’t just big men. They were massive, easily ten or twelve feet tall. Their clothes were shredded until they were wearing jean loincloths, which were a thing Claude never needed to know existed. Their hats and heads remained almost the same size, which would have been funny if they weren’t charging down the street to try to eat him and his friends. 

“Scatter!” Claude shouted, jumping to the side as he drew an arrow. It would have been a great plan if the others had listened, really, because Claude was actually good at those sorts of things. 

Instead of following the master plan, Dimitri charged at Albion and Edelgard went after Bergion. 

It was admittedly awe-inspiring to watch them fight. Edelgard spun so her axe sliced into flesh, a splatter of blood catching her in the face. Her shield up in time to stop a fist the size of her torso from taking her head off. Dimitri seemed to have shed his nerves, sliding between Albion’s legs and striking him in the back of the knee with his lance. The two children of Zeus were absolutely terrifying in combat. Meanwhile Claude peppered Albion with arrows, backing away from the fight as much as he could. 

The giants were tougher than most though, bellowing in pain but not disappearing even as celestial bronze tore at their monstrous essence. Claude didn’t want to think about how many humans or demigods they had eaten over the years. He didn’t usually think about killing monsters as a necessity, but some needed to be stomped out. He would be happy to do the honors. 

As Claude aimed a careful arrow at Albion’s wrist, making his hand go limp, Bergion kicked at Edelgard and sent her sprawling. Her shield sparked against cement. She scrambled to the side, hair falling in her face. Claude switched targets, blocking out Albion’s swearing and threats. Dimitri would have to take care of himself for a bit. 

Bergion lunged forward as Claude released another arrow, the projectile missing him entirely. Edelgard raised her axe and lashed out blindly. It was enough to stop Bergion from grabbing her and gave Claude enough time to circle around so he was in one of his blindspots. The giant was smart enough to pick up on the attempt and straightened up, twisting his head so he could look at Claude in the eyes. His hat cast a shadow over the top of his face, his jean loincloth waving in the breeze. 

“You smell different,” Bergion said. 

“I’m going to take that as a compliment,” Claude replied. He drew back another arrow. “I can’t let you go free, though. We’re going to kill you and stop you from hurting anyone else.”

“We’ll come back. Will you?” Bergion let out a shout of pain as Edelgard sunk her axe in his back. 

“I hope to never come back to this place,” Edelgard hissed. She yanked her axe out as Bergion fell to his knees. 

Claude released his arrow. It stuck out of the giant’s forehead like a unicorn horn. He closed his eyes and, as Claude watched, turned to dust. Claude exhaled once. A cry of pain reminded him that this wasn’t over. 

Closer to the house, Dimitri was leaning against his spear. There was blood dripping down his hairline from some kind of head injury, but his limbs were all there. Albion didn’t look much better. He was grimacing with every step, one hand was useless by his side. There were enough arrows sticking out of his side that he looked like a hedgehog. Still, he was heading towards Dimitri and he’d get there before Edelgard could stop him. 

“Cursed demigods,” Albion spat, “I hate you all. We had good feasting on the island before  _ he _ showed up and ruined it. We were praised as sons of Poseidon!” 

Dimitri narrowed his eyes. Even from far away, Claude felt a shiver down his own spine. 

“Who showed up?” Dimitri asked. He straightened up, but his spear was still by his side. 

“Now isn’t the time, Dimitri!” Edelgard shouted at him. She looked at Claude. “What are you waiting for, shoot him!” 

“You should know, son of Zeus.” Albion paused about six feet from Dimitri. “I can smell the same ozone in your blood as was in his. I can only hope that you suffer the same fate — you may be strong, but your bloodline begets madness.”

“Shut up,” Edelgard said. She raised her axe to the sky. Nothing happened. 

Claude strode forward and released an arrow with his next exhale. It struck Albion in his shoulder. He bellowed in rage. His blood was a dark red across his rough skin. Dimitri was still just standing there, even though he could have ended it with a single blow.

“What do you mean about my bloodline?” He asked.

“Dimitri, you are not going to get a conversation out of a monster,” Edelgard insisted. She started marching towards Albion. Her shield hung loosely in one hand but the grip on her axe was deathly tight. “We’re done here.”

“You can kill me, but I will return. We’re getting stronger. Mother is calling.” Albion grinned. His teeth were stained red. He had stopped walking and just kept looking between the demigods. His eyes settled on Claude. “She will bring us back to an era where we had power! No more demigods, no more gods.”

“Who is your mother?” Claude asked, eyes narrowing. He started to approach, though his bow was still at the ready. “Talk, monster, and we’ll make it quick.” 

“It doesn’t matter. Whatever you do, we are eternal. We will outlast puny demigods.” Albion suddenly looked at Dimitri. “But you will die first.” He lunged. Claude loosed an arrow, but it wasn’t enough to stop Albion. Dimitri stood there, looking at the giant’s outstretched hands. 

Edelgard swung her axe up. “In the name of Zeus!” She cried. 

Thunder broke through the clear sky. The bolt was bright enough that Claude briefly saw stars before he finally squeezed his eyes shut. The smell of ozone filled his nose. The light was gone as soon as it had arrived, the sky unfazed. 

There was a smear of ash where Albion had stood. Dimitri was untouched from the blast. He stared out into space. Edelgard marched forward, dropping her shield first and then her axe. She stopped in front of Dimitri. For a moment, Claude thought she was going to strange him. Then she pulled him into a hug, whispering something in his ear. Claude felt his shoulders slump. He finally could relax. 

_ I am going to sleep the rest of the ride, _ he thought. He glanced back towards the gas station where the bus was—

“Shit.” Claude did a quick jog over to the others. “So, we can talk about what just happened in a moment, but we’ve got a bigger problem.” He pointed towards where the bus was definitely gone. Edelgard kicked at the ground. 

“We’re doomed. Even if we can borrow a cell phone, who are we supposed to call?” Edelgard gave Dimitri a funny look. “How’d you hurt your head?”

“Fell.” Dimitri rubbed at his forehead. It was smeared with blood, but didn’t seem to be where the wound was. “Can we contact Byleth? Maybe IM them?”

“I don’t know how we’d get a rainbow,” Edelgard replied. Claude felt like his fanny pack was growing heavier by the second. “We don’t have enough money for a taxi, even if there was one that would drive us up north.”

Dimitri sat in the dirt, pulling a rag out of his pocket and then using it to clean his lance off. Claude didn’t want to know why he just had that with him. Considering he had been having a fit, Dimitri seemed much calmer now. Maybe it was the adrenaline. 

“Maybe we can try to wait for the next bus. We can’t be the first people to be left behind at a rest stop,” Edelgard suggested. She started pacing back and forth, but less manic and more out of impatience. Claude recognized it because he would do the same thing when trying to come up with new ways to prank the Ares Cabin. “Yes, it’ll put us behind but we’ll just have to have a sob story ready. We’ll have to clean up Dimitri, but that won’t be too hard. The next bus can’t be that far behind.” 

Claude swallowed. He looked up at the sky. Even if they found shade, it was hot enough that he didn’t fancy sitting and waiting. And he didn’t think more than one group of monsters could be in a town, but he wasn’t just concerned about monsters.

“Do we even know if the next bus will have room for us?” Claude pointed out. 

Edelgard opened her mouth and then closed it. She nodded, but she didn’t look happy about it. “Do you have any better suggestions?” 

_ Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim, _ Claude thought, eyes flicking up to the sky. 

“We have some options,” he confessed. 

Dimitri, in a rare moment of snark, snorted. “Do you have a magical cab that you can summon?” 

“No, there’s no way we’re in their range.” Claude fiddled with the zipper on his fanny pack. He finally tugged it open, shoving his bow inside — magic was wonderful like that — and then pulled his phone and charger out. “But I just need to charge this and we should be good.”

That got Edelgard’s attention. “Are you serious? Have you just been carrying a phone around this whole time?” 

“Who are you going to call?” Dimitri asked, turning towards Claude. 

“It’s dead, so it’s fine!” Claude quickly clarified. 

“Where are we going to charge it?” Edelgard cut in. 

“Well, that part’s easy.” Claude pointed to the house that was formerly occupied by Albion and Bergion. “If we aren’t waiting for the bus, we can wait inside.”

“But who are you going to call?” Dimitri repeated. 

Claude swallowed. “My mother.”

****

Dedue felt the dirt around his fingers. He breathed in the scent of strawberries and ignored the buzzing of bees. They would not harm him. He wasn’t the only one in the strawberry patch, but he was still alone. That was fine. It had been only a few days since the quest left, but the anxiety was worse when he was around others. Even Annette and her kind songs or Ashe and his bold tales failed to distract Dedue the way that some good plants did. 

Son of Demeter, and all. 

The patch was also flat enough that he saw Ferdinand and Hubert approach long before they arrived. The two of them were not trying to be quiet, though. If their arguing did not alert Dedue to their presence, then the way that they stomped through the plants was enough. Contrary to popular belief, Dedue could not talk to plants. He didn’t need to, flinching when Hubert almost took out an entire clump with his boot. 

“Dedue! Do you have a moment?” Ferdinand called, waving one hand. Dedue nodded, brushing his hands off. “Oh, perfect. Hubert, stop glaring at the strawberry plants. They aren’t going to hurt you.”

  
Hubert muttered something that Dedue didn’t catch, but he looked like he would rather go skinny dipping in the lake than dealing with the plants. Still, he gave Dedue a look that was less intimidating and more… scheming. 

“Hello, Dedue. We had a question for you.” Hubert tugged at his sleeves. 

Despite the fact that everyone was supposed to wear a Camp Half-Blood T-Shirt, Hubert wore a long black sweater. Dedue was sweating through his shirt on the best of days. He was pretty confident Hubert used magic to keep himself from doing the same. As a son of Hecate, that was the kind of thing he was good at. 

Neither Hubert nor Ferdinand continued the conversation. They stood in the field, the silence growing faster than the plants. Dedue waited. They had a question for him. He could hold his tongue until they shared.

It ended up being Ferdinand who spoke. 

“We wanted to ask if you have heard from Dimitri recently.” 

Dedue shook his head. Hubert sighed. Ferdinand placed a hand on his arm and the two exchanged a look. Usually, Edelgard was keeping the two of them from killing one another. It was a little odd to see them working together, or at least not trying to commit murder. 

“Well, Hubert has been seeing some… signs.”

“Omens,” Hubert clarified. “They were omens.” 

“Yes, yes.” Ferdinand waved a hand. “But you are close to Dimitri and we wanted to know if you knew how the quest was going.” 

“He clearly doesn’t know anything,” Hubert said. “I apologize for interrupting you. Have a good time gardening.” Hubert frowned as he turned away. 

“What omens are you seeing?” Dedue asked. 

Hubert waved a hand. “Things. Dark clouds. The smell of rain. Birds with too many eyes. Tea leaves arranged in certain patterns.” 

Dedue didn’t know a whole lot about magic, but he didn’t think that omens worked that way. He just nodded. Ferdinand sighed. 

“I know it sounds like nonsense. I have trouble believing him too. But there are things that are happening that no one can ignore. The gods disappearing is bad, yes, but Byleth isn’t sleeping. Marianne keeps talking about her nightmares. And no one has heard from the quest.” Ferdinand shivered. “Just… if you hear from them, please let us know.” 

“I will.” Dedue mulled over his next words. “I trust them.”

Ferdinand’s shoulders slumped. “I do as well, but I just wish I knew that she was okay.” 

Dedue could not blame him. It was how he felt about Dimitri. 

Still, there was nothing else to say. Ferdinand and Hubert, their bit said, left the fields. Hubert looked like he was trying to step on as many plants as possible. Dedue could blame him for that. But now that his mind was on Dimitri, he knew that there wasn’t anything else he could do. His magic didn’t work very well when he was distracted. 

He stood. There was a crisp, hot breeze today. The smell of strawberries was pervasive and reminded him of the time Dimitri had mentioned that he associated the fruit with Dedue now. Dimitri kept a small thing of strawberry hand lotion in his cabin. Dedue didn’t know if he brought it with him. He hoped he had. 

Dedue walked to his own cabin. His siblings were enjoying their free time, most of them swimming with other campers or playing volleyball in the hot sand. He could see Nephenee cheering her friends on at the rock climbing wall. She didn’t see him walk by. 

Iris Messaging — shortened to IM’ing — was the best way for a demigod to reach someone. Since cell phones were like throwing a flare up in the sky, most avoided them even while in Camp. There was a phone in the Big House, but Dimitri didn’t have a cell and so Dedue didn’t have a number to call. But if someone had a golden drachma or two and knew how to summon a rainbow, then usually they could reach out via the rainbow goddess. 

He was standing in his cabin, the little fountain they kept for Iris Messages gurgling happily, when he realized the gods were missing. There was no rainbow goddess to take his message to Dimitri. 

He would only have to hope that Dimitri would return soon. 

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/ashes8012)!


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